Russia pledges help to Syrian rebels and demands elections

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced on Friday that he wanted to bring together several of his counterparts from Western and Arab countries to discuss the Syrian crisis.

Kerry met the king at his ranch outside the Saudi capital late Saturday. Lavrov also spoke by telephone Saturday with Kerry.

All previous peace efforts have foundered on the question of Assad’s fate, with the Syrian government and its allies insisting that he remain in power to oversee a transition and the opposition and its backers insisting he must go in order to end the war.

“We didn’t turn down the offer”.

The lying pretexts used to justify the wars-the supposed war on terrorism, the threat of weapons of mass destruction, human rights, democracy-have all been thoroughly exposed and discredited.

Russian warplanes have bombed a number of FSA-affiliated groups in northern areas of Syria since intervening in the war on the side of Assad.

For the USA, the war against ISIS has always been subordinated to its determination to oust Assad and install a puppet at the head of the Syrian government.

“From the beginning, they are not serious and they are targeting non-ISIS areas, so how could we trust their involvement now?”

It is unclear whether new elections could be held under different circumstances, and Syria’s opposition has dismissed holding a vote now as absurd.

Mr Assad made a surprise visit to Moscow this week to discuss the intervention.

We’re joined now by Charles Glass.

CHARLES GLASS: Well, unfortunately, nothing is being proposed.

Iran is trying to turn Alawites into Shi’ites, asserted Rhode, adding that Russian Federation looks on this negatively.

The deputy of Russia’s State Duma Federal Assembly, Sergei Gavrilov, met with President al-Assad and has reiterated that position. “And they didn’t leave (on) their own, and we consider that they will do the same for Syria”. “They pledged to continue and intensify support to the moderate Syrian opposition while the political track is being pursued”.

AMY GOODMAN: What about this offer of Russian Federation to support the Free Syria Army and the Free Syria Army saying no?

TOWs have arrived in Aleppo, although not in the numbers rebels say they need, a source of frustration for them.

One member of the Kremlin elite said the worry was not just a possible re-emergence of terror groups in Russia’s unruly and impoverished North Caucasus. In fact many of them have chosen to escape their military service and have fled outside Syria.

CHARLES GLASS: Well, it’s very simple. Russia’s participation demonstrates its influence in the region and preserves a long-term client state in Syria.

AMY GOODMAN: Is a Russian client.

CHARLES GLASS: Is a Russian, I’m sorry, is a Russian client state. Or it’s going to invest more and more deeply into Syria to keep that regime, which is its only friend in the Arab world.

Russian Federation is already coordinating its multinational counterterrorism campaign with Syria, Iraq and Iran through an intelligence sharing center in Baghdad. We still need more consultations…to reach this point. There are negotiations within the global community on how to apply the principles of Geneva 1. Interfax news agency said that Assad was also ready to launch constitutional reforms.

“Many external actors and not only those four that gathered in Vienna are obviously involved in the Syrian crisis”, he said.

AMY GOODMAN: That’s the Saudi foreign minister. We must force them to come up with a plan… where the interests of every religious, ethnic and political group will be will protected. So the Saudi position has been consistent throughout. On the other hand, assuming the elections aren’t phoney, Russian Federation may be also signalling to Iran that they can’t hope for al-Assad to stay in power forever, which is Iran’s position.

“If a few country with whom we have differences were to participate in any kind of a meeting, then it would be very quick and easy to determine whether that country is there as an obstruction or as a bona fide participant seeking a solution”, Kerry added.