Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 24
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Russia will not always support the Syrian government, leader of the National Coalition of the Syrian opposition Ahmed al-Jarba said, Turkish Anadolu news agency reported on Jan.24.
According to al-Jarba, during the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia does not insist that Bashar al-Assad stay in power, and solving the problem through dialogue among the Syrians is most important for Russia.
Regarding activation of militants and other radical Islamic groups in Syria, al-Jarba stressed that the Syrian government supports the militants of Al Qaeda and has close contact with them.
During the conflict in Syria which began in March 2011, more than 115,000 people were killed in the country and over 4.2 million became refugees in Syrian territory and two million fled to neighbouring countries. The main burden of receiving refugees lay on Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. The total population of Syria before the conflict amounted to 20 million.
Translated by M.L.
Edited by C.N.