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Russia ‘reminds’ Assad to listen to Kremlin’s advice

February 19, 2016 at 12:14 pm

The Syrian regime must follow the Kremlin’s advice and recommendations in order to resolve the crisis in the country, Russia’s envoy to the UN Vitaly Churkin said yesterday.

“Russia has invested very seriously in this crisis, politically, diplomatically, and now also in the military sense. Therefore we of course would like that Bashar Al-Assad take account of that,” Churkin said.

Speaking to Russia’s Kommersant newspaper, he referred to Al-Assad’s statements regarding recapturing all of Syria, adding “Al-Assad’s statement is not in accordance with the diplomatic efforts that Russia is making.”

“I heard President Assad’s remarks on television… Of course they do not chime with the diplomatic efforts that Russia is undertaking…. The discussions are about a ceasefire, a cessation of hostilities in the foreseeable future. Work is underway on this.”

The Russian official also noted that if the Syrian regime “follows Russia’s leadership in resolving this crisis, then they have a chance to come out of it in a dignified way… If they in some way stray from this path – and this is my personal opinion – a very difficult situation could arise. Including for themselves.”

“If they proceed on the basis that no ceasefire is necessary and they need to fight to a victorious end, then this conflict will last a very long time and that is terrifying to imagine,” he said.