MOSCOW, September 17. /TASS/. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with Deutsche Welle television he was surprised at the short-sightedness of the United States’ policy when it demanded resignation of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

"I remember that at the time when they began to exert pressure on Syria, I spoke with [44th US President] Barack Obama and asked him a simple question: ‘Look, you want to overthrow Assad. Suppose you did it. In a broad sense of the word - the United States or NATO - succeed and a color revolution happens there or a military operation is conducted. What then? What is going to happen there?," he recalled, adding that Obama’s answer surprised him a lot. "He said, ‘You know, we don’t know what comes next, we don’t look that far ahead.’ It was a red signal for me about how thoroughly the United States plans these or those operations. The result is obvious."

Commenting on the impact of the Arab Spring on Russia’s relations with Germany, Medvedev noted that they had neither improved nor worsened, since the sides had had similar approaches to many processes that were unfolding in Libya and Syria, which could not be said about US partners. He pointed to the fact that Assad is still Syria’s president after the convincing victory at the elections whereas the Islamic State terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia) has been defeated, including with Russia’s support.

"As for Libya, the situation there is absolutely different. Following certain moves, the regime there was changed in an utterly bloody way and Libya broke into several parts, with Islamists still enjoying unchallenged control in some of these parts. No unified full-fledged state is seen in the perspective, despite this year’s agreements. That is why we often had very close positions on such matters," Medvedev said.