The poll was dismissed by the opposition and condemned internationally.
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“This is all political equivocation”, Munzer Akbik, a member of the main opposition Syrian National Council, told The Associated Press. A transitional committee must be formed to rule Syria while a new constitution is being written to pave the way for presidential and parliamentary elections.
Meanwhile, the state news agency SANA said Assad told the Russian delegation that eliminating the terrorist groups in Syria should lead to the political solution in Syria.
Assad reportedly says he is willing to take part in the elections “if the people are not against it”. They all reflect what many in Syria and a few outside of it know: the Free Syrian Army is a small decentralized umbrella organization lacking unified leadership and with no real presence on the ground. Voting did not take place in areas controlled by the opposition, excluding millions of voters. His term expires in 2021. Parliament’s cycle expires in May 2016.
He also criticized USA policy on Syria and denied Western charges that Russia’s airstrikes in Syria have indiscriminately targeted anti-Assad rebels backed by the Western coalition as well as Islamic State extremists.
But Moscow has doubled up his support for the Syrian dictator over the past month by launching airstrikes against rebel groups seeking his overthrow. Akbik, the opposition politician, confirmed he had learned of such communications.
But Putin said he believed that the military operation in Syria could create the right conditions for progress in talks on the future of the country. “We are just trying to explore ideas”, Kerry said after talks with Lavrov in Vienna, emphasizing that all participants would be equals.
In Vienna last week, Kerry and Lavrov acknowledged the others’ sharply conflicting views on Assad.
“We aim at making a contribution in the fight against terrorism, which is risky for the United States, for Russian Federation and for the European countries, and for the whole world without exaggeration”.
“Since the Russians came many people want to fight”, said al-Ahmed, sitting in a bare, dismal office in a ramshackle building adjacent to the wasteland in the Turkish border town of Kilis. He added that Russian Federation was still striking rebel positions. “So there is no possibility for Syrians to reconcile with the one who killed their kids and destroyed their cities”. It was not clear if the commander was the target, the group said.
According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the rockets were fired from the eastern edges of Damascus, where Takfiri militants are stationed.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Saudi Arabia Saturday to meet with King Salman and other officials. “Both sides noted the importance of mobilizing the global community to support this goal and reiterated the need for a transition away from Assad”.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-JubeirSaudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir stressed his country’s position on Iran and branded the Islamic Republic as an evil element that is occupying Arab lands sponsoring, funding, training and exporting terrorism overseas.
Assad would run again “if the people are not against it”, Yushchenko added. During a Twitter Q&A session, Donald was asked what he thought about Russian Federation launching air strikes in the Middle East. “If Russian Federation wants to go into Syria and bomb the hell out of ISIS”, Donald said, “I’m sort of okay with that”. Washington and Riyadh continue to insist that any settlement be predicated on an agreement that Assad leave office, while Moscow, without ruling out Assad’s departure, refuses to make it a precondition.
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On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was time to start preparing for elections in Syria.
