Russian Federation is believed to be Assad’s strongest backer and has previously balked at the West’s suggestions that the Syrian president should be ousted.
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In Moscow for talks, UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said Wednesday that the Syrian government and opposition should start talking to each other. NATIONAL DIALOGUE Syria’s deputy foreign minister rejected the idea of a transitional period sought by Western states that want Assad removed from power. “We are not saying that Assad must go or stay”, said Zakharova, underlining that it is the Syrian people who should decide the fate of the Syrian president.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes belonging to either Russian Federation or the Syrian government bombed ISIL’s de facto capital, Raqqa, on Tuesday, killing at least 23 people including 13 fighters.
“We’ll ask the representatives of the government, and the opposition”.
“Syria agrees to take part in the four working groups that have been proposed by Mistura after he affirmed (to the Syrian side) that the consultations are not binding but could be useful in launching a third round of talks in Geneva”, according to al-Moallem.
De Mistura called on Middle Eastern and Western nations to “use their influence” on various opposition groups they back in Syria “so that these groups come to political talks with a constructive platform”.
At the talks in Vienna, where Russian Federation was the leading player, Moscow said it wanted opposition groups to participate in future discussions on the Syria crisis and exchanged a list of 38 names with Saudi Arabia.
A U.S.-led coalition is also carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State extremist targets in Syria, and last week President Barack Obama announced the deployment of about 50 USA special-forces troops to support and advise local fighters battling Islamic State militants.
Zakharova added “It is fundamentally important for us to preserve the Syrian statehood…”
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Moscow has been bombing targets in Syria since September 30, and said on Tuesday it has hit 2,084 targets in 1,631 sorties, including 52 training camps and 287 command posts, causing “significant losses to the terrorists” and undermining their morale.
