Top Syrian diplomat holds talks with Russia

Oppn rejects Assad family

A Syrian government delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad on Thursday held talks at the Russian foreign ministry as Moscow denied the existence of a joint plan with the United States to end the crisis in the country.

However, in Istanbul Syria’s opposition National Coalition spokesman Walid al-Bunni later told a press conference: “We will accept any political solution that does not include the Assad family nor those who harmed the Syrian people.”

In Moscow, Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich speaking about the talks with Syrian government delegation said: “This is of course a part of the efforts we are undertaking to encourage dialogue not just with the government but all opposition forces,” he added.

It was not immediately clear who was present at the closed-door meeting but the ITAR-TASS news agency on Wednesday said Muqdad’s visit would include talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The meeting came amid a flurry of end-of-year diplomacy in Russia over the Syrian crisis that will also see talks between UN-Arab League Syria peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and Lavrov on Saturday. Lukashevich said the talks with Brahimi would be “directed at ending the violence and launching a national dialogue in the country between the authorities and the opposition”.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr was also expected to arrive in Moscow later on Thursday. Russia has to the fury of the West refused to cut cooperation with the Syrian regime. The diplomatic drive comes amid Western media reports of a new Russia-US initiative that would see Assad stay in power until 2014 while preventing him from further renewing his mandate. But Lukashevich vehemently denied the existence of any such plan.

“There was not and is not such a plan and it is not being discussed,” he said, adding that Russia’s Syria policy was still based on an accord with world powers made in Geneva back in June for an inter-Syrian dialogue. Russia has always insisted it will not prop up Assad’s regime but has also emphasised Moscow will not seek to persuade the Syrian president to step down.