“It doesn’t occur to any Syrian, not only me, that Bashar al-Assad will let go of power through political interventions... He will be ousted only by force,” the former diplomat warned.
He also claimed that Sunni Muslim militants in al-Qaeda are collaborating with the regime, which is dominated by those from the minority Allawite sect.
“There is enough evidence in history that lots of enemies meet when their interests meet,” he said to explain the surprising alliance.
He added: “al-Qaeda is searching for space to move and means of support, the regime is looking for ways to terrorise the Syrian people.”
Mr Fares is the most prominent politician to defect since the uprising against President Assad began.
He has held senior positions in the ruling Ba’ath party and powerful security services, and served as governor in several provinces.
The revelations came as UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan is due to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Syria but Mr Fares dismissed any chance of success as “impossible”.
“Several months have passed and... the regime hasn’t implemented a single article of (Kofi Annan’s) plan.”
Russia and China have blocked two previous UN resolutions that condemned President Assad’s government for the continuing violence.
