Syria's Assad says he will not negotiate with armed groups

A man rides a bicycle past a poster depicting Syria's President Bashar al-Assad near the new clock square in the old city of Homs, Syria December 7, 2015. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

BEIRUT/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared on Friday that he would not negotiate with armed groups, appearing to scupper peace talks that Russia and the United States hope to bring about next month.

Washington helped broker an agreement reached on Thursday by more than 100 members of Syria's opposition parties and more than a dozen rebel fighting groups ranging from Islamists to Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups - but not Islamic State - to send a joint team to meet the government under U.N. auspices next month.