Russia says it won't host Assad but others welcome
Associated
Press/Virginie Nguyen Hoang - A Syrian carries a revolution flag during
a Friday protest in Aleppo, Syria, where young people and children sang
songs against Bashar Assad and the Syrian regime, Friday,
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's foreign minister says Moscow would welcome any country's offer of a safe haven to Syrian President Bashar Assad, but underlined that Moscow itself has no intention of giving him shelter if he steps down.
Russia has used its veto right at the U.N. Security Council to protect its old ally from international sanctions, but it has increasingly sought to distance itself from Assad.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
told reporters late Friday that countries in the region he wouldn't
name publicly had asked Russia to convey their offer of a safe passage
to Assad. He said that Russia responded by telling them to go directly
to Assad.
"If there is anyone willing to provide him guarantees, they are
welcome!" Lavrov told reporters on board a plane returning from Brussels
where he attended a Russia-EU summit. "We would be the first to cross
ourselves and say: "Thank God, the carnage is over! If it indeed ends
the carnage, which is far from certain."
He also said the Syrian government
has pulled its chemical weapons together to one or two locations from
several arsenals across the country to keep them safe amid the rebel
onslaught.
"According to the information we have, as well as the data of the
U.S. and European special services, the government is doing everything
to secure it," he said. "The Syrian government has concentrated the
stockpiles in one or two centers, unlike the past when they were
scattered across the country."
U.S. intelligence says the regime
may be readying chemical weapons and could be desperate enough to use
them. Both Israel and the U.S. have also expressed concerns they could
fall into militant hands if the regime crumbles.
Lavrov added that U.N. peace envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, would visit Moscow for talks before the year's end.