Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told French television the intelligence services of his country are in contact with their counterparts in France, which has severed diplomatic ties with Assad and insists he must leave power, reports Reuters.
Assad, who added there had been no actual co-operation between the two sides despite the contacts, made the comments to France 2, according to extracts of an interview the public TV channel was due to broadcast in full on Monday.
"There are some contacts but there's no co-operation," Assad told the journalists who interviewed him.
When asked if there was any exchange of information, he said "no", adding that the contacts had been with French intelligence services staff who had visited Syria.
There was no immediate response from the French Foreign Ministry to an emailed request for comment.
Over 220,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil war, which began when protests inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings erupted in March 2011 and were repressed by security forces.
Islamic State militants have seized on a conflict involving a far broader opposition uprising against Assad's leadership to seize parts of Syria, as well as parts of neighbouring Iraq.