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Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP - Getty Images
Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks Thursday about Syria and other issues during his major annual news conference in Moscow.
MOSCOW — Russia's main concern in Syria is the fate of the country and not that of President Bashar Assad, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
He said Moscow wanted to ensure that any solution to the conflict in Syria must prevent the opposition and government forces just swapping roles and continuing to fight indefinitely, Reuters reported.
"We are not concerned about the fate of Assad's regime. We understand what is going on there," Putin said at his annual, nationally broadcast news conference.
"We are worried about a different thing: What next? We simply don't want the current opposition, having become the authorities, to start fighting the people who are the current authorities and become the opposition — and (we don't want) this to go on forever," he added.
There is a growing sense of desperation at refugee camps along the Jordanian border. Refugees say in Syria you die from warfare, but in the camps it is a slow death caused by hunger and sickness. ITN's Emma Murphy reports.
Russia has been criticized by the West for blocking United Nations Security Council resolutions designed to put more pressure on Assad and his government.
Damascus has been increasingly pushed in recent weeks as the 21-month war, which has claimed at least 40,000 lives, rages on.
Last week, more than 100 nations, including the United States, recognized the new Syrian opposition council as the legitimate representative of the country, a boost for the opposition forces that have been bombing regime targets in and around Damascus, once an impregnable stronghold of the Assad regime.
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On Sunday, Syria's longtime vice president Farouk al-Sharaa said that his regime and the rebels were both going down a losing path after 21 months of civil war, a rare admission by a top government official that Assad's victory was unlikely.
Al-Sharaa, a Sunni Muslim in a power structure dominated by Assad's Alawite minority, has rarely appeared in public since the revolt erupted in March 2011.
He told the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar that neither the rebels nor the Assad regime can "decide the battle militarily."
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Muhammed Muheisen / AP
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Mr. Putin may have the best suggested solution, he and President Obama could quickly bring an agreement to help the people of Syria, not Assad.
Not many can help Sunni Islamic mad people. If others try to jump in to help, then it will be Benghazi after sometime!
Russias' real concern is losing its' Mediterranean naval base in Tartus, not Assad.
Rontron...Exactly.........Actually most people in the world aren't really concerned about Putin's fate either.
Russia (especially Putin) and China are too smart.
They don't go beyond certain limits to help the Muslim nations.
Many might have watched how they acted when it came to Saddam.
If Assad is overthrown by Sunni Islamic religious Nazis like al-Qaida, MB, Salaffi, the conditions of Christians, Kurds, females and other helpless sections will be unbearable as in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq and other Sunni majority nations.
Sunni Muslims, especially the Sunni Wahhabi version invented, funded and exported by Sunni rulers of House of Saud, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and other Sunni Arab League nations, have become one-way traffic most intolerant Islamic religious Nazis.
Though Assad is comparatively a far better of Muslim leader, Sunnis are not willing to tolerate him just because he belongs to a different sect!
Can there be more religious madness?
Compare Assad with House of Saud.
House of Saud consists of a megalomaniac, despotic and bigoted ruler and highly corrupt, despotic, bigoted seventh century mindset 5000 princes and princesses. These maniacs of all kinds have assembled huge battalions of girls and women from all over the world.
Here is a ruling bunch in 21st century!
Hope many war mongers and oil company lobbyists have learnt lessons from Iraqi wars and Libya intervention!
We have no roles in Syria.
Also remove sanctions of Iranian oil to crash oil prices and reduce our economic miseries.
Those who talk of WMDs are motivated by other considerations as Iran can get as many nukes as it wants from Pakis.
you forgot to add that this conflict is about syrians winning their freedom and rights from a ruthless killing leader that doesn't care about millions of his own people, only himself, and is willing to destory the entire nation b/c he only thinking of himself. This is about "Arab Spring" contrary to your bogus comments that support a dictator commiting genocide. BTW, Russia and China are stupid to support this crazy and insane dictator in killing tens of thousands of syrians seeking to win their freedom and rights after 40 plus years of oppression.
John M: None can be worse than the House of Saud, Kuwaiti, UAE, Qatari and other Sunni Arab League rulers. They are worse than beasts!
Jonathan-1982062 - very wise words. People don't understand the Sunni's are taking over the entire Middle East. And while Assad and his long ruling family has been a dictatorship, they are 100 times better than the Wahhabis (sp). As Winston Churchill said, the Wahhabi's will stop at nothing; and that speech was back 50 years ago!!
People on here don't understand the consequences of what will happen when the new regime takes place. They are intolerant of women's rights, Christian Arabs, and the Kurds.
How do people not see the Sunni brotherhood taking over? How can they be so blind as to not see American's "friends" as the ones creating every war in the world today? (ie Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait).
But the most important question - why is America on the side of the Sunni's? What is going to give them absolute power? Look at what is happening in Egypt...
And these so called patriots (ie terrorists) in Syria that America has funded over $75 million dollars to date.
Why can't people see this Brave New World we are creating?
Goodbye Assad. I doubt the Russian govt will be supplying anymore weapons to his regime. This isn't a good situation for the people of Syria, no matter who actually wins this insurrection. I'm glad we've stayed out of this crap. At least that's mostly out of it. I realize we're probably supplying rebels with weapons, and that's not really a good thing.
The people of Syria need help, not Assad or the rebels.
May be welcome to: Saudi Arabian style rule!
Saudi Arabian style rule means even Allah can't help them!
Hey ASSad! You just lost your best friend. Now what? And a reminder: Your family goes too. How exactly did you say you all wanted to die? Idiot!
the sad thing is we send billions of dollars militarily to these people and lose the best are nation has to offer as does canada our kids in the military getting killed and blown up and then we rebuild their countries while are country falls apart.and we don't need their middleeast oil,if we would use are own natural resources.quit supporting and let them live their miserable lives,i'm all for humanitarian efforts but people want to be helped before you can
Russia no longer has to be concerned over Assad's fate, primarily because he finally paid Russia for his last shipment of arms and ammunition. Russia couldn't care less about him now that they have their money!
Russia is "all familar" with Stalin's logic "kill all dissent no matter how young" that Assad the Butcher is currently using even on children in torture chambers and indiscriminationing bombing. Assad the Butcher for the past year and a half has been commiting genocide thinking only of himself (he will fall anyway not matter how many more thousands he kills). What goes around, comes arounds and Assad the Butcher will get his......
John....We all got it coming sooner or later.
Putin is right of course. Apparently. none of the Western countries can see past the end of their noses. We worry only about removing the autocrat in power (Iraq, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt), without giving any thought to who might replace them or how the conflict will end.
I hope this will finally convince everyone that Russia is not about to ally with islamists against the West, and certainly not going to war with USA to protect Iran.
Clearly we didnt care about Mubarak when he left power. Great, Obama thinks like a russian
This Putin is Stalin in another body. There's no doubt he would do to his own people what Assad is doing to keep his power. Just another tinpot dictator with a miserable mindset.