Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has told his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad that he must implement reforms or leave his office, the first time that the Russians have publicly criticised their long standing ally.
Medvedev told reporters in a televised address,
He went on to stress that this was a decision that should be made by the Syrian people and not by NATO or other European countries.
The statement comes just days after both Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution on Syria and is a sign that Moscow may be beginning to lose patience with Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
Medvedev also explained Russia’s rationale behind their veto stating that their fear of a Libyan-style intervention was what stopped them from voting in favour of the resolution.
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the US wants to see other nations join the US and EU
Medvedev told reporters in a televised address,
"Russia wants as much as the other countries for Syria to end the bloodshed and demands that the Syrian leadership conduct the necessary reforms.
If the Syrian leadership is unable to undertake these reforms, it will have to go.”See report from the Guardian here.
He went on to stress that this was a decision that should be made by the Syrian people and not by NATO or other European countries.
The statement comes just days after both Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution on Syria and is a sign that Moscow may be beginning to lose patience with Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
Medvedev also explained Russia’s rationale behind their veto stating that their fear of a Libyan-style intervention was what stopped them from voting in favour of the resolution.
"That means only one thing: our partners at the UN Security Council are not excluding a repetition of the Libya scenario. The proposed text would have again allowed the use of weapons."Meanwhile the US continued to urge other countries to join them in sanctions against President Assad and his regime.
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the US wants to see other nations join the US and EU
“not only in increasing the political and rhetorical pressure on the regime, but also tightening the economic noose... there are more steps that can be taken by countries like Russia to up the pressure on Assad, including joining our weapons embargo”.The UN estimates that 2,900 people have died in Syria since the protests began in March.
