webfact Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Russia says its not crucial that President Assad stays in power MOSCOW: -- Moscow appears to be changing its stance regarding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry is on record saying that it is not crucial for Assad to stay in power, that it is up to the Syrian people to decide. Maria Zakharova expanded her remarks in an interview on Russian radio: Weve never said that Assad has to go or stay. What we did say is that the statehood of Syria is a key to fight terrorism, because without a Syrian state there will be no one to fight terrorists on the ground. Russia is supporting the Syrian government with air strikes on what it says are terrorist targets and critics claim are rebel positions. Assads future has been a sticking point between those backing rival sides in the conflict. Moscow says it now plans to host a meeting next week between Syrian government officials and members of the countrys opposition. Last week world powers including key Assad ally Iran for the first time met in Vienna and agreed to renew efforts to end the conflict. The ministers agreed to as the United Nations to start a process that could lead to a ceasefire and new elections. New talks are due in two weeks. -- (c) Copyright Euronews 2015-11-04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godden Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Good news, i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorgal Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Good news, i think. It's Western war propaganda: inverse the facts and the message, and you will be closer to the truth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandadavid Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 (edited) Russian president needs to arrested for war crimes and tried via the UN and hopefully executed Edited November 4, 2015 by Vandadavid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
up2u2 Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 A good sign but who / what is the best replacement and who is going to choose it. This is the problem when you get involved in State conflicts. In this region what fills the vacuum is worse than what you helped eliminate. Then you are stuck there forever trying to sort the mess out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 I think the latest Russian interventions in Syria were mostly for domestic consumption, I think he is ready to throw Assad under a bus. Interestingly after all the hype of Russian no fly zones Israeli jets hit targets in Syria the other day, there has been no Russian comment on this that I have found. I wonder who else Putin is preparing to throw under a bus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tchooptip Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Russian president needs to arrested for war crimes and tried via the UN and hopefully executed In the same trial as J W Bush? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicog Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 (edited) I suspect Putin has been reading his own intelligence reports about credible threats to his country, and realised he might have put his foot well and truly in it. The way out for certain is a diplomatic solution excluding Assad, who can potter off to an Iranian resort to live out his days. Then hopefully an inclusive government and army can re-establish stability in the country and cut the head off the IS snake. Iran can still play, too. It will come in handy doing its bit in Iraq. Edited November 4, 2015 by Chicog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rethaier Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 I suspect Putin has been reading his own intelligence reports about credible threats to his country, and realised he might have put his foot well and truly in it. The way out for certain is a diplomatic solution excluding Assad, who can potter off to an Iranian resort to live out his days. Then hopefully an inclusive government and army can re-establish stability in the country and cut the head off the IS snake. Iran can still play, too. It will come in handy doing its bit in Iraq. The heads of the IS snake is Saudi and USA. Which head do you fancy cutting first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakboong Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 I feel confident that Putin has little use for Assad but he doesn't want to rebuild Syria from the ground up and would like the Syrians to vote their choice if at all possible. It makes his job much easier and far cheaper in the long run. There are rumblings that he wants to deal with Nazis in Russia. a strange agenda. There is even talk that he is planning to implement Holocaust Denial laws for that purpose. A strange twist for sure. Hard for me to believe but the picture changes regularly and anything is possible with the guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicog Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 I suspect Putin has been reading his own intelligence reports about credible threats to his country, and realised he might have put his foot well and truly in it. The way out for certain is a diplomatic solution excluding Assad, who can potter off to an Iranian resort to live out his days. Then hopefully an inclusive government and army can re-establish stability in the country and cut the head off the IS snake. Iran can still play, too. It will come in handy doing its bit in Iraq. The heads of the IS snake is Saudi and USA. Which head do you fancy cutting first? Inadvertently yes, but they are not running the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impulse Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 The heads of the IS snake is Saudi and USA. Which head do you fancy cutting first? Inadvertently yes, but they are not running the show. You guys are maligning the wrong animal. The question is, who's wagging the dog? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Weve never said that Assad has to go or stay. Great for not telling the truth: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/putin-says-al-assad-must-stay-head-of-syria-to-defeat-islamic-state/article26569123/ http://eaworldview.com/2015/10/syria-daily-putin-to-saudis-let-assad-stay/#original Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmerjo Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Weve never said that Assad has to go or stay. Great for not telling the truth: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/putin-says-al-assad-must-stay-head-of-syria-to-defeat-islamic-state/article26569123/ http://eaworldview.com/2015/10/syria-daily-putin-to-saudis-let-assad-stay/#original I agree about the troublemaker part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggt Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 This appears to be a huge shift in Russian policy...me thinks Assad will escape to Russia for refuge and protection to avoid prosecution for inexcusable war crimes against his own people... It is a bit puzzling as keeping Assad in power appeared to be THE goal of the Russians entering into the Syrian war... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 This appears to be a huge shift in Russian policy...me thinks Assad will escape to Russia for refuge and protection to avoid prosecution for inexcusable war crimes against his own people... It is a bit puzzling as keeping Assad in power appeared to be THE goal of the Russians entering into the Syrian war... Seems Russia doesn't want him now. Off to Iran manybe??? I doubt he'll like it there. Zero power for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simple1 Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 (edited) I think the latest Russian interventions in Syria were mostly for domestic consumption, I think he is ready to throw Assad under a bus. Interestingly after all the hype of Russian no fly zones Israeli jets hit targets in Syria the other day, there has been no Russian comment on this that I have found. I wonder who else Putin is preparing to throw under a bus? I guess you're referring to the airstrikes reported on 30 October whereby Israel attacked Hezbollah and a Palestinian pro Syria faction. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Report-Israeli-Air-Force-attacked-Hezbollah-targets-in-Syria-430616 Israel and Russia are acting like two lions on the African savanna. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/lions-israel-russia-vladimir-putin-syria-fire-border.html#ixzz3qZqw40JF Edited November 5, 2015 by simple1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeverSure Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Perhaps Putin remembers the butt kicking Russia got in Afghanistan and the years and money wasted there. Perhaps it's beginning to occur to him that he can't win this one either. I know of no time in history when a guerrilla army was defeated on its own soil. Guerrillas are out of uniform and blending into the population. They also may feel they have a lot more to fight for. They are hard to get at without killing a lot of innocents even when they are identified. That whole ME is a mess and I don't think the West can straighten it out short of turning it into a glass parking lot. To me it's been a lost cause so far... Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srikcir Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 it is not crucial for Assad to stay in power, that it is up to the Syrian people to decide. Putin just realized that Syria is not like Georgia or Crimea where Putin controls the ground war and the danger to ISIL terrorism against Russian citizens is too real. As long as Russia keeps its Syrian naval base, Putin will make whatever deal he can with whomever to stay unmolested and continue as the region's largest arms dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thongkorn Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Russian president needs to arrested for war crimes and tried via the UN and hopefully executed In the same trial as J W Bush? and Mr Blair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cook my sock Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Putin is using all the tricks he learnt at the KGB. He has Netanyahu v worried. This is Russia vs Israel, Syria is just a backdrop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now