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Lavrov: Russia `Not in Regime Change Game' in Syria
© RIA Novosti. Valeriy Melnikov
MOSCOW, March 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia would not pressure Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad to step down and welcomes Syrian
opposition's tentative willingness to hold talks with his regime,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
`We're not in the regime-change game. We are against interference in
domestic conflicts,' Lavrov said in an interview to BBC, transcribed
on Russian Foreign Ministry's website.
`It is not for us to decide who should lead Syria. It is for the
Syrians to decide,' Lavrov added.
Since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in early 2011, Russia has
opposed all foreign attempts to put pressure on Assad, insisting that
the crisis - which has evolved into a full-scale civil war - should be
resolved by Syrians alone, preferably through political means.
Political dialogue in Syria seemed unlikely, given that the Syrian
opposition has made the departure of Assad and his close allies their
main demand. But in January, Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, the leader of the
main opposition group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary
and Opposition Forces, said that the group was willing to consider the
possibility of negotiations with the regime.
`I'm glad that the latest discussions and the latest gestures from the
opposition, and statements from some of those who support the
opposition, hint that they would be prepared to start negotiations
with some negotiating team without asking President Assad to step
down,' Lavrov said on Thursday.
© RIA Novosti. Valeriy Melnikov
MOSCOW, March 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia would not pressure Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad to step down and welcomes Syrian
opposition's tentative willingness to hold talks with his regime,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
`We're not in the regime-change game. We are against interference in
domestic conflicts,' Lavrov said in an interview to BBC, transcribed
on Russian Foreign Ministry's website.
`It is not for us to decide who should lead Syria. It is for the
Syrians to decide,' Lavrov added.
Since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in early 2011, Russia has
opposed all foreign attempts to put pressure on Assad, insisting that
the crisis - which has evolved into a full-scale civil war - should be
resolved by Syrians alone, preferably through political means.
Political dialogue in Syria seemed unlikely, given that the Syrian
opposition has made the departure of Assad and his close allies their
main demand. But in January, Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, the leader of the
main opposition group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary
and Opposition Forces, said that the group was willing to consider the
possibility of negotiations with the regime.
`I'm glad that the latest discussions and the latest gestures from the
opposition, and statements from some of those who support the
opposition, hint that they would be prepared to start negotiations
with some negotiating team without asking President Assad to step
down,' Lavrov said on Thursday.