RUSSIA: Syria's opposition National Council urges Moscow to join growing international calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step down

Record ID: 280057

  • Title: RUSSIA: Syria's opposition National Council urges Moscow to join growing international calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step down
  • Date: 16th November 2011
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (NOVEMBER 15, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL CHAIRMAN BURHAN GHALIOUN, SAYING: "We will continue discussions with our Russian brothers to reach an understanding on extracting Syria from its current crisis, and on resorting to negotiations before all other solutions." GHA
  • Embargoed: 1st December 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACMC94PH4FLXFPCCEZXMH7IVNF
  • Story Text: Russia urged opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday (November 15) to hold talks with the government, hoping to secure a peaceful resolution to months of violence without abandoning its support for the isolated leader.
    In high-level talks in Moscow, the main Syrian National Council opposition group responded by urging Russia to join growing international calls for Assad to step down.
    "Progress on the road to peaceful negotiations to the crisis should start with a decisive step, a strong symbolic step, it should start with the international community and Arab countries and Russia also asking President Assad to resign in order for Syria to enter a new era," Syrian National Council Chairman Burhan Ghalioun told reporters outside the Russian Foreign Ministry.
    Russia joined China last month in a double veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have condemned Syria's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, and has accused the West of discouraging dialogue between Assad and opponents.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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