Putin says President al-Assad’s government essential to prevent Syria from falling into chaos

Russia’s President has underscored that the only solution to the crisis in Syria is to strengthen the effective government structures and to help them in fighting terrorism.

Vladimir Putin’s remarks came during his interview with the CBS’s 60 minutes, according to the Russian TV website.

He said that President Bashar Assad’s government is essential to prevent Syria from falling into the same chaos as Libya and Iraq. 

“It’s my deep belief that any actions to the contrary in order to destroy the legitimate government [of Syria] will create a situation which you can witness now in the other countries of the region or in other regions, for instance in Libya, where all the state institutions are disintegrated. We see a similar situation in Iraq,” Putin said.

He added: “There is no other solution to the Syrian crisis than strengthening the effective government structures and rendering them help in fighting terrorism. But at the same time, urging them to engage in positive dialogue with the rational opposition and conduct reform.”

The Russian President stressed that US-led coalition partners need to understand that only the Syrian people are entitled “to decide who should govern their country and how.”

Recently, Putin called for establishing a wide coalition against terrorism in cooperation with the Syrian government, stressing that Russia continues supporting Syria militarily to that effect and in accordance with the military contracts signed between the two countries.

Yesterday, the Russian President’s Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Syria’s destiny is to be determined only by the Syrian people and President Bashar al-Assad cannot be excluded from the settlement process.

Basma Qaddour