His Majesty King Abdullah said the embattled Syrian regime was not likely to fall within weeks, but had the capabilities to carry on at least until mid-2013.

King Abdullah made the remarks in a brief conversation with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Friday.

In his address to the forum, the King had advised against the “let’s wait and see” approach towards post-Arab Spring Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the flow of investment to the region.

Those who say that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime has only weeks left “don’t know the reality on the ground. They [the Syrian leaders] have still got capabilities. I give it a strong showing at least for the first half of 2013.”

His Majesty described any potential attempt to divide Syria as “catastrophic” for the entire region.

King Abdullah reiterated his appeal to the world community to support efforts to host Syrian refugees, whose number in Jordan has exceeded 300,000.