In a surprising about face, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said that it is not crucial to retain President Bashar al-Assad's position in Syria, a reversal of its earlier intentions to preserve his presidency using military power. Russia's previous insistence on keeping Assad put the country at odds with the United States and its allies. In the announcement, reported by Reuters and Russia's RIA Novosti news agency, Russia said it would be inviting representatives from the Syrian government and opposition groups to Moscow for peace talks.
Last week, more than a dozen parties, including the United States and Russia, agreed to work toward establishing a nationwide cease-fire in Syria, with the eventual goal of holding internationally supervised free and fair elections. At the time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the decision as to who would lead Syria would be left up to the Syrian people.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.