Assad says Moscow ‘never’ spoke of departure

AFP, BEIRUT: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Thursday he has never faced pressure from Russia to step aside, as US Secretary of State John Kerry headed to Moscow seeking to revive stalled peace efforts.
Speaking to NBC News in Damascus, Assad insisted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had never raised the issue of his departure or a political transition.
“Only the Syrian people define who’s going to be the president, when to come, and when to go. They never said a single word regarding this,” he said.
Assad’s fate is a key question in efforts to bring about a negotiated settlement to Syria’s five-year civil war.
Hopes for the existing peace process rest on the UN-backed blueprint sketched out by the 22-nation, US and Russian-led International Syria Support Group.
Under this road map, signed by both Syria’s ally Iran and Assad’s pro-rebel foe Saudi Arabia, a nationwide ceasefire will precede Geneva-based talks on “political transition.”
But there has been little progress towards a resumption of talks that had been expected to take place this month.
And the prospects for a political transition beginning by August, as laid out in the road map, now appear slim.
Kerry was due to arrive later Thursday in Moscow, a close ally of Assad’s government that launched air strikes in support of regime forces last September.
Kerry said before leaving Washington that he would meet Putin “to see if we can somehow advance this (the peace process) in the important ways that people want us to.”
Moscow and Washington brokered a landmark partial ceasefire in Syria in February but it has since all but collapsed amid continued heavy fighting.
Kerry’s spokesman John Kirby told reporters his boss was “extremely frustrated” with the failure of peace efforts and “his patience was growing thin”.
In Washington, many observers have criticised Kerry’s outreach to Russia on Syria, arguing he has been strung along by Putin as he seeks to protect his client Assad.
But Kirby insisted the administration is not being naive, and that Thursday’s visit to Moscow, Kerry’s third this year, would “probe the sincerity” of Putin’s promises.
Syria’s conflict began in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations and has evolved into a complex multi-front war that has left more than 280,000 dead and forced millions from their homes.
Efforts to bring an end to the war have taken on greater urgency since the emergence of the Islamic State group, which seized control of large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in mid-2014.

Assad says Moscow never spoke of departure

AFP, BEIRUT: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Thursday he has never faced pressure from Russia to step aside, as US Secretary of State John Kerry headed to Moscow seeking to revive stalled peace efforts. Speaking to NBC News in Damascus, Assad insisted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had never raised the issue of his departure or a political transition. Only the Syrian people define whos going to be the president, when to come, and when to go. They never said a single word regarding this, he said. Assads fate is a key question in efforts to bring about a negotiated settlement to Syrias five-year civil war. Hopes for the existing peace process rest on the UN-backed blueprint sketched out by the 22-nation, US and Russian-led International Syria Support Group. Under this road map, signed by both Syrias ally Iran and Assads pro-rebel foe Saudi Arabia, a nationwide ceasefire will precede Geneva-based talks on political transition. But there has been little progress towards a resumption of talks that had been expected to take place this month. And the prospects for a political transition beginning by August, as laid out in the road map, now appear slim. Kerry was due to arrive later Thursday in Moscow, a close ally of Assads government that launched air strikes in support of regime forces last September. Kerry said before leaving Washington that he would meet Putin to see if we can somehow advance this (the peace process) in the important ways that people want us to. Moscow and Washington brokered a landmark partial ceasefire in Syria in February but it has since all but collapsed amid continued heavy fighting. Kerrys spokesman John Kirby told reporters his boss was extremely frustrated with the failure of peace efforts and his patience was growing thin. In Washington, many observers have criticised Kerrys outreach to Russia on Syria, arguing he has been strung along by Putin as he seeks to protect his client Assad. But Kirby insisted the administration is not being naive, and that Thursdays visit to Moscow, Kerrys third this year, would probe the sincerity of Putins promises. Syrias conflict began in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations and has evolved into a complex multi-front war that has left more than 280,000 dead and forced millions from their homes. Efforts to bring an end to the war have taken on greater urgency since the emergence of the Islamic State group, which seized control of large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in mid-2014.