10-28-2015, 03:36 PM
(10-28-2015, 02:41 AM)username Wrote: "Patriotic Syrian Rebels" sounds like a contradiction in terms to me. You're probably not considered patriotic if you're trying to topple Assad.
Yeah, since Putin is a strong defender and ally of Assad, seems likely he considers it unpatriotic to overthrow Assad's rule by force.
But, here's the official Russian stance.
"We are ready to also support patriotic opposition, including the so-called Free Syrian Army, from the air," (Russian Foreign Minister) Lavrov told the Rossiya 1 television channel.
"The main thing for us is to approach the people fully in charge of representing these or those armed groups fighting terrorism among other things," he said, according to a transcript released by the state-controlled channel.
Mr Lavrov said the Kremlin also wanted Syria to prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections. "External players can not decide anything for the Syrians," he said.
"We must force them to come up with a plan for their country where the interests of every religious, ethnic and political group will be well protected.
"Of course they need to prepare for both parliamentary and presidential elections."
Mr Lavrov's comments represented a dramatic shift in Russia's position.
Ref: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-24/ru...is/6882626
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The Free Syrian Army is the main Western-backed opposition group battling to overthrow Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
To date, as far as I know, they haven't been willing to consider a new government where Assad could possibly play a role (via election or other means), and Assad and Putin haven't been open to a new government without any possibility of Assad playing a role.