On Tuesday, Nobel peace prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari told The Guardian that in 2012 Moscow suggested a reconciliation deal for Syria, suggesting to "find an elegant way for Assad to step aside" after launching peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition.
- According to Ahtisaari, the senior peace negotiator and former Finnish president, the plan was rejected by Western states because they were "convinced that Assad would be thrown out of office in a few weeks.”
"Russia is not engaged in the change of regimes, offering elegant or inelegant ways to step aside — this is what Russia has never been engaged in," Peskov told reporters.
The spokesman added that from the beginning of the Syrian crisis Russia has repeated that only the Syrian people can, by use of democratic procedure, determine their future....
(Sputnik)
16/9/15
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Related:
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Inadmissible to impose from outside solutions to Syria crisis on Syrians (Kremlin)
Assad Resignation Essential for Victory Over ISIL/ISIS (US Department of State)
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Assad 'won't quit under pressure'...
ReplyDeleteSyrian President Bashar al-Assad has said in an interview for Russian TV he will not quit under foreign pressure, saying the Syrian people must decide.
Western powers and much of the Syrian opposition say it is not conceivable for Mr Assad to lead a post-war Syria.
Mr Assad said Iran was supporting his government "politically, economically and militarily" but denied that Iranian ground forces had been sent.
The latest comments come as Russia increases its presence in Syria.
Mr Assad said that the president "comes to power with the people's assent through elections, and if he leaves, he leaves if the people demand it".
Mr Assad was re-elected in 2014 with 88.7% of the vote. However, the election only took place in government-held areas and the opposition said the vote had no credibility in the midst of a civil war......BBC
16/9/15