Russia and Turkey do not agree on Assad’s future, Syrians should decide it themselves - Lavrov

SOCHI, September 17. /TASS/. Russia and Turkey do not agree on the future of Syrian President Bashar Assad as Syrians should decide it by themselves, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Feridun Sinirlioglu. "We could not reach consensus on certain individuals because when it comes to the Syrian leadership and President Bashar Assad, the Syrian people should decide," Lavrov said. --0 --sap "In his recent interview with the Russian media, President Assad made it clear that there are democratic mechanisms, elections. Syrians probably should agree on this among themselves," Lavrov continued. "And the international community should ensure that the election that can take place in Syria are maximally transparent and democratic, honest, fair, observed by unbiased organizations and representatives of different countries and structures," the foreign minister noted. Read more