Russia has ‘never’ discussed transition with me: Syria’s Assad

Damascus (AFP) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview released Thursday that his Russian ally has “never” discussed a political transition with him, despite international support for such a process.

“Only the Syrian people define who’s going to be the president, when to come, and when to go. They never said a single word regarding this,” he told NBC News, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.