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Syrians should decide fate of President Assad: Kremlin

Friday, 11 December 2015 11:22 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 11 December 2015 11:47 AM ]

Spokesman for the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov (AP photo)

Russia has slammed a statement by the foreign-backed Syrian opposition calling on President Bashar al-Assad to quit, saying only the Syrian nation should decide the fate of the president.

More than 100 members of opposition groups from inside and outside Syria took part in a two-day meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

In a statement on Thursday, the participants insisted that “Bashar al-Assad and his aides quit power with the start of the transition period” set out during recent talks on the crisis in Syria that were held in Vienna.

A number of senior Saudi figures also took part in the Riyadh meeting. Saudi Arabia is a main supporter of militant groups operating against the government of President Assad.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the “fate of Assad should be discussed by Syrians themselves, not Russia.”

“Now efforts are focused on drawing up the lists of who to recognize as terrorist organizations, who to consider moderate opposition which can and should be part of the political settlement... Disagreements among certain countries exist. Positions are getting closer,” the Russian official said at a press conference in Moscow.

Two rounds of international talks on the conflict in Syria were held in the Austrian capital on October 30 and November 14.

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