Mekdad has denied accusations of his government 's alleged crackdown on protesters after the start of the Syrian Civil War . He has held interviews with Western and Arab Media outlets about the uprising , where he has spoken in support of Bashar al-Assad . He has promoted the government 's claim that his government is fighting armed terrorist insurgents , and when asked by a BBC reporter whether he believes his government is winning the war , he responded saying " We shall win it , we are winning it , yes . " Mekdad was a part of the delegation representing the Syrian government during the Geneva II Conference on Syria . The other members with him were Bashar Jaafari , Omran al-Zoubi , Bouthaina Shaaban , Walid Muallem , and Luna Shabal . During the Geneva Conference , Mekdad held press conferences where he denied accusations by the Syrian National Coalition that his government was holding children in their prisons . Also during the Geneva conference , Mekdad was infuriated by questions by an Orient TV reporter , he told the reporter , " you are the ones who represent imprudence and decadence . " Not knowing that the microphones could hear them , in one press conference during the Geneava talks , Mekdad whispered to Mohamed al-Mohamed , a Syrian diplomat for the Syrian embassy in Geneva , saying " We are giving a bad image , we are not giving the other side a chance "
Geneva II Conference on Syria
Geneva II Conference on Syria
Faisal Mekdad