Khaddam, 73, who now lives in Paris, told the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday that Assad was facing growing pressure from economic problems at home and the international investigation into the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri.

"His fall has already begun. I don't think his regime will last out this year," Khaddam, who accuses Assad of ordering Hariri's murder, said.

The former vice president, for 30 years a confidant of Assad's late father, Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad, left the government in June.

Syria has been ruled by the Assad family "like a band of gangsters," Khaddam told the German weekly.

Khaddam told leading Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat earlier this month that he wanted the Syrian government toppled.

He has been accused of treason and expelled from the ruling Baath Party after a series of verbal attacks on the president.

Asked by Der Spiegel whether he was seeking to form a government-in-exile, he said: "That is correct".

He said he would be ready to work with both Islamist leaders, whom he called "part of the rich Islamic mosaic that defines the basic character of our country" and the Ba'ath Party.

"I would not rule out any political group that sticks to the basic rules of democracy," he said.

"One should not make the mistake with the Syrian Ba'ath Party that the Americans made with the Iraqi Ba'ath Party," he said.

"The majority of Ba'athists in Syria have long ago turned against the regime. They see the government's mistakes every day," he said.

Khaddam also repeated the allegation he made earlier this week that Assad had ordered the murder of Hariri.

"I'm convinced: the order came from Assad. He is an extremely impulsive man, he is always losing his cool."

Ya Libnan reported yesterday that Khaddam is planning to move closer to Syria. This could perhaps help him oversee the uprising in Syria and the eventual overthrowing of the Assad regime.

Syria has denied any role in the bomb blast that killed Hariri and 22 others in Beirut last year.

Source: Der Spiegel, Reuters, , Ya Libnan