Russia: Foreign Political Recipes Mustn’t be forced on Syria, Al-Assad’s Fate Not for Negotiation

Local Editor

Russia said on Monday it opposed any setting of preconditions for talks between the Syrian government and its enemies, and that plans for the country's political future cannot be forced on it from outside.

The Foreign Ministry repeated calls for an end to fighting and start of talks between the Syrian government and opposition.
In parallel, Moscow rejected "attempts to force prepared recipes for socio-political development" on the Middle Eastern nation.

Earlier, Russian FM Sergei Lavrov stated Sunday that the US was wrong to see Russia as softening its position. He further clarified that his country had agreed to take part in the talks on the condition there would be no demand for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.
"We are not conducting any negotiations on the fate of al-Assad," Lavrov said.
Moreover, he stressed: "All attempts to portray things differently are unscrupulous, even for diplomats of those countries which are known to try to distort the facts in their favor."

On the chemical weapons rumors, Lavrov said: "There are attempts to create an image that the Syrian government is planning to use chemical weapons. We are dealing seriously with any rumors in this regard, and we are making sure of the truth through contacting the Syrians."
"According to our information which we present to the Americans in response to their demand and to the European colleagues, the Syrian Government does not have any intention to use chemical weapons."


Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org