Assad regime’s head Bashar Assad said in an interview broadcast on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin never talked to him about leaving power, despite pressure from Washington for Assad to step down,Reuters reported.
“They never said a single word regarding this,” Assad told NBC News when asked whether Putin or Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had talked to him about a political transition in Syria, where a war has raged since 2011.
Assad also said he is not concerned that Putin and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who travels to Moscow on Thursday, will make a deal that would force him from power.
“Because their politics, I mean, the Russian politics, is not based on making deals. It’s based on values,” Assad said.
Russia has been a major ally of Assad while the United States is not seen by observes as a real ally to opposition. Many Syrians say that the U.S. is not serious in seeking to overthrow Assad. A Syrian observer told Orient Net on condition of anonymity: “The U.S. is an ally to Assad and not an opponent, Syrians are not deceived”.
Kerry heads to Moscow seeking greater Russian cooperation in the war against ISIS in Syria, but he faces strong opposition from U.S. defense and intelligence officials who argue that Washington and Moscow have diametrically opposed objectives in the country.
