Moscow Seeks Serious Reforms in Syria, Criticizes Regime’s Intransigence

Arab World

May 17th, 7:01am

Moscow - Raed Jaber

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) speaks with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad during their meeting in Sochi. AFP file photo

Russian circles said Moscow has been “adjusting its positions towards President Bashar Assad,” amid media campaigns showing the growing divide between Syria and Russia. The sources accused the head of the Syrian regime of intransigence by rejecting reforms and turning to more rapprochement with Iran. In the absence of an official position from Moscow to explain the nature of relations between the two sides, the Russian state-owned Novosti news agency published interviews with prominent figures known for their pro-Assad positions. The figures downplayed some opposition statements that could reveal a change in the position of Moscow towards Damascus or a possibility that Russia could abandon Assad. The coordinator of the friendship group of the state Duma for relations with Parliament, Dmitry Sablin, said Assad has the support of the majority of Syrians and would win the next elections if he runs for another presidential term. Sablin reiterated that “here is no alternative to Assad.” In an article written in the Russian paper Svobodnaya Pressa, Zauer Karayev, an expert on Syria, wrote that Assad is trying to benefit from gaps in Iranian-Russian relations by distancing himself from Moscow. “This means that it would be more difficult for Russia to push Assad towards the required reforms,” he said. Experts of the Russian Council on international Affairs Kirill Semenov and Anton Lavrov Mardasov also wrote this week an article on Russian-Syrian relations entitled “Syria without Assad,” published by the Carnegie Moscow Center. The two writers discussed the latest Russian media campaigns against the Syrian regime by touching on both its economic and political dimensions. The article said the media campaigns were important in uncovering the size of Syrian regime corruption and Assad’s fewer chances to win the next elections amid an expected collapse due to the dire economic situation. Semenov and Mardasov said Russia aims to push the Syrian regime towards political and economic reforms. The writers added that Moscow was preparing a scenario to remove all figures who obstruct reforms or change in Syria.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2288286/moscow-seeks-serious-reforms-syria-criticizes-regime%E2%80%99s-intransigence