MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. No one, including US, can interfere into Syria’s internal affairs, Syria’s Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad said on Tuesday.
"It is impermissible for the US to interfere into affairs of other countries. It is impermissible to violate the sovereignty of this or that state," the diplomat noted, commenting on US President Barack Obama’s statement on the necessity to form a new government in Syria without Bashar Assad. "No one has the right to demand Assad’s resignation. He was lawfully elected. It was the decision of the Syrian people," the ambassador said.
According to polls conducted in Syria, "more than 60% of people want to see Assad as their president," Haddad continued. "This is the answer to Obama," he noted.
US President Barack Obama said earlier: "In Syria, the only way that the civil war will end... is an inclusive political transition to a new government without Bashar Assad."
Next round of intra-Syrian consultations may take place in Moscow in August
The third round of intra-Syrian consultations in Moscow will most likely take place in August, Haddad went on to say.
Damascus hopes for a broad representation of the opposition at consultations, Haddad noted. "We are preparing for this meeting, it will be the third such meeting. We are optimistic and hope that the meeting will be fruitful," the ambassador said.
The list of participants in the meeting has not been defined yet, the diplomat said.
Russia supports political dialogue
In June, the Russian delegation to the 29th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council said that Moscow is ready to push ahead with its efforts to promote intra-Syrian political process and continue the practice of organizing consultations between representatives of the Syrian government and opposition forces in Moscow.
"If necessary, we are ready to continue the practice of holding consultations between representatives of Damascus and a wide spectrum of opposition groups in Moscow," a member of the Russian delegation said. "The Moscow consultations have helped to agree a common intra-Syrian platform, for the first time in the four years of conflict."
The terrorist threat in Syria "has acquired a daunting scale," the Russian diplomat said and called on the commission investigating human rights violations in Syria led by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro "to keep a close eye on the activities of terrorists" from such groups as the Islamic State and Jebhat al-Nusra. The Russian diplomat noted that the international coalition’s efforts "are not yielding expected results but the death toll among civilians from bombardments, according to governmental organizations, is growing."
Russia "shares the commission’s stance that there is no alternative to the diplomatics solutions to the Syrian crisis. It’s up to the Syrians themselves, with no pressure from outside, to decide about their future," the Russian diplomat stressed and expressed support to the efforts taken by United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to find a way out of this crisis.