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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has hinted that he would not favor an asylum deal for Syrian President Bashir Assad as a way to end the country's civil war.

Ban was asked Wednesday about the potential for such a deal. He refrained to comment directly on the matter but told The Associated Press that the United Nations doesn't allow anyone "impunity."

Ban says that "whoever commits (a) gross violation of human rights must be held accountable and should be brought to justice. This is a fundamental principle."

Ban spoke on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Qatar.

Assad vowed in an interview with Russia Today last month that he would never be forced into exile and that he would "live and die in Syria."