“It is up to the Syrians to decide who should run their country,” he said in an interview with The Times newspaper published on Friday.
The premier noted that the two sides of the conflict in Syria had to declare a ceasefire and negotiate a settlement.
He also said that Moscow had an interest in seeing the conflict in the country being resolved.
Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011. Hundreds of people, including many Syrian security forces, have been killed in the course of the turmoil.
Damascus blames ‘outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups’ for the unrest, asserting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.
The West and the Syrian opposition, however, accuse the government of killing protesters.
Despite Western and Arab pressure on Assad’s government to step down, Russia has continued calling for the resolution of the Syrian crisis through dialogue.
On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov reaffirmed that Russian diplomacy has been working and will continue to work to resolve the unrest.
AGB/HN/GHN
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