Lavrov: Assad Won’t Leave, It’s for Syrians to Decide Who Should Lead Syria

Russia reiterated on Friday it would not push Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit, stressing that only Syrians to decide who should rule their country.

“It is not for us to decide who should lead Syria. It is for the Syrians to decide,” Lavrov said in a BBC interview.

Asked if there was any chance of Russia urging Assad step down, Lavrov said: “Absolutely not.

“You know that we are not in the regime-change game. We are against interference in domestic conflicts. This is our position, which should be of no surprise to anyone.”

Lavrov said the departure of Assad should not be a pre-condition for negotiations to end the Syrian crisis because it was highly unlikely to happen.

“He is not going to leave, we know this for sure — all those who get in touch with him know that he is not bluffing,” the Russian to diplomat said.

“We have been against any pre-conditions to stop the violence and start the dialogue because we believe priority number one is to save lives,” Lavrov added.