GENEVA (Sputnik) — The West, as well as several Gulf states, has been calling for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s resignation and has been supporting groups in the country that aim to oust him.
Russia, on the other hand, has repeatedly said that only the Syrian people should decide the future of the country and its leadership. In December, Assad said he would "gladly resign" if he failed to receive popular support in the next election.
"We want Russia to stop supporting this bloody regime, and start supporting the Syrian people," Monzer Makhous told reporters in Geneva.
26 January 2016, 09:04 GMT
He underlined that both the Russian and the Syrian people would like to continue supporting friendly ties "after the imminent removal of [Bashar] Assad."
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with Assad’s government fighting numerous opposition factions and terrorist groups, including Daesh and al-Nusra Front.
Since September 2015, Russia has been conducting an aerial campaign in Syria against terrorist groups on the request of President Bashar Assad.
