Syrian opposition rejects Russian ideas for solving crisis

SYRIAN opposition figures rejected yesterday a Russian draft proposal for a process aimed at solving the nearly five-year war, saying Moscow’s aim was to keep President Bashar al-Assad in power and marginalize dissenting voices.

A draft document obtained by Reuters on Tuesday showed Moscow would like the Syrian government and opposition to agree on launching a constitutional reform process of up to 18 months, followed by early presidential elections.

Russia, which with Iran has been Assad’s top ally during the civil war, has denied any document is being prepared before international peace talks in Vienna this week
The text, obtained by Reuters, does not rule out Assad’s participation in early presidential elections, something his enemies say is impossible if there is to be peace.

“The Syrian people have never accepted the dictatorship of Assad and they will not accept that it is reintroduced or reformulated in another way,” said Monzer Akbik, member of the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition.