Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said he has yet to see "anything concrete" from US President Donald Trump over his vow to defeat the so-called Islamic State group.
In an interview with Chinese TV Mr Assad also called US forces deployed in Syria "invaders" because they were there without government permission.
Mr Assad said "in theory" he still saw scope for cooperation with Mr Trump though practically nothing had happened in this regard.
He said Mr Trump's campaign pledge to prioritise the defeat of IS had been "a promising approach" but added: "We haven't seen anything concrete yet regarding this rhetoric."
Mr Assad dismissed the US-backed military campaign against IS in Syria as "only a few raids" he said had been conducted locally.
"We have hopes that this administration ... is going to implement what we have heard," he added.
Asked about a deployment of US forces near the northern city of Manbij, Mr Assad said: "Any foreign troops coming to Syria without our invitation ... are invaders."
"We don't think this is going to help".
