Russian Federation pledges help to Syrian rebels and demands elections

Mr Assad was reported to have met a delegation of Russian politicians and conceded that, after the “elimination of terrorist groups”, there could be elections in Syria.

Washington has criticised Moscow for so far focusing most of its firepower on armed groups supported by the West and its allies rather than Islamic State, angering the Kremlin which has said it is impossible to make a distinction between terrorists.

“The eradication of terrorist organisations will lead to the political solution that Syria and Russian Federation seek and that will satisfy the Syrian people and preserve Syria´s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity”, he said, quoted by news agency SANA.

The Free Syrian Army is a loose alliance of groups, a lot of them with a Syrian nationalist outlook, that are often led by Syrian army defectors but have no central command structure. Akbik, the opposition politician, confirmed he had learned of such communications.

The group said local residents told it they believe “the strikes were by Russian forces because the sound of the planes was different from the sound made by Syrian air force planes, and the Russians fly much higher”.

A future role for Assad is a major sticking point in the pursuit of a political solution. Although Russian Federation is busy conducting extensive air strikes on rebel strongholds in Syria, and at this stage is not involved in a ground war, soldiers stationed in Latakia still suffered losses in the battle for the city. He said he has been consulting with the factions but that he asked the go-between for an end to Russian strikes on FSA positions before such a meeting can be held. Locals said the FSA commander was away from the home at the time of the attack. “They are breaking the Russian-Iranian and Syrian army”, he said. And let’s not forget that President Putin himself has said that President Assad has approved Russian air support for Free Syrian Army or any other genuine Syrian moderates that are fighting against the Daesh.

He added: “The orange and black St George’s ribbon [which became a patriotic symbol in Russian Federation after the annexation of Crimea] is now the symbol of a new Russian Federation”. The second airstrike hit a nearby town, killing 13 civilians and a local FSA commander near a bakery.

The USA and Russian Federation earlier this week signed an agreement to minimise the risk of incidents in Syrian airspace. “We are seriously prepared for such coordination”, Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday.

Up until now, the US government has expressed unwillingness to negotiate with Assad in order to resolve the Syrian crisis. The unrest began in the early spring of 2011 within the context of Arab Spring protests, with nationwide protests against Assad’s government, whose forces responded with violent crackdowns.

After the unannounced talks, Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry agreed in Vienna on Friday to explore new ways of trying to reach a political settlement.

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In a telephone conversation held at the request of the U.S. side, the Russian foreign ministry said on its website that the two men had also discussed tapping the potential of other countries in the region to push the political process forward. Putin would personally guarantee that Assad would not run, but someone from his family or clan might. The war is tearing Syria apart.