We support neither Assad nor Syrian opposition – Medvedev - The Voice of Russia: The Voice of RussiaWe su... http://bit.ly/10YphZ8 #Syria
12:40 PM - 28 Jan 13 · Details
We support neither Assad nor Syrian opposition – Medvedev
Jan 28, 2013 11:02 Moscow Time
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Photo: RIA Novosti
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Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev has called on the nations backing Syria’s warring parties to refrain from any military support and let the diplomatic peace process take its course.
“We are open for any contacts, but we strongly object to outside players providing opposition and other parties to the conflict with weapons. It’s time they stopped,” Mr. Medvedev stressed.
He said Russia’s stand on the Syrian issue was “absolutely pragmatic.”
“We don’t support [Syrian President] Assad, neither do we support the opposition. We keep in touch with both the opposition and Assad. We have inter-government agreements, economic ties and even military relations with the regime, though we have never said who should rule the country. It’s up to the Syrian people,” he said.
Voice of Russia, RIA
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev believes forcefully ousting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad would only make matters worse.
Speaking in an interview with the CNN Sunday, he argued that only a national dialogue involving all of Syria’s ethnic and confessional groups can save the country from a protracted civil war.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s chances of remaining in power are diminishing and he must sit at the negotiating table with all of Syria’s ethnic and religious groups to bring an end to the country’s civil war, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.
Medvedev has called Assad several times urging him to negotiate, the Russian premier said in an interview with CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” program at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The interview is scheduled for broadcast today.
