France’s Le Figaro carried out a survey and showed that at least 72 per cent of respondents want Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to remain at the helm of the war-torn country.
The survey, published before the Vienna summit in late October, asked the following question: “Should world powers demand Bashar Assad to leave?” Although at least 28 per cent from the total of 21,314 respondents voted “Yes,” the majority said they want the world leaders to allow Assad to rule Syria. The main countries with an interest in the Syrian conflict attended a summit in Vienna on October 30 to try and discuss putting an end to the war. However, after failing to reach an agreement on Syria, the world’s greatest powers decided to meet again for a fresh round of talks.
Although the atmosphere during the summit was characterized as “optimistic,” disagreement over Syrian President’s position persisted. The United States and its western allies have called for President Assad to step down, while Russia and Iran have rejected accusations that the Syrian leader represents an obstacle to peace. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said during the meeting that “there is no way President Assad can unite and govern Syria” and opined that “Syrians deserve a different choice.” Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that Syrians “should define the future of their country…including Assad’s fate.”
Russian Communist Party member Alexander Yushchenko told RIA Novosti the Syrian President “specifically underlined that in rebuilding Syria, the Syrian people rely on Russia’s help,” RT reported. Assad encouraged all Russian companies to do business with Syria, Mr Yushchenko added.
The Syrian leader visited Moscow in late October to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin and thanked his ally for the support he offered to Syria in fighting terrorism. The two leaders also discussed a pressing issued, namely Syria’s economic recovery. The intervention in Syria has cost Russia about US$4 million per day, Military.com reported. According to an analysis by Britain’s IHS Jane’s Defence and Security Intelligence published in the Moscow Times, Russia spent between US$80 million and US$115 million from September 30 through October 20.
Saudi Arabia demanded during the Vienna meeting that Iran and Russia withdraw military forces from Syria. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Sky News in an interview in late October that Saudi Arabia and Syria’s allies could not reach a common denominator during the Vienna summit because they cannot agree on “a date and means for Assad’s departure” and for the withdrawal of foreign forces, “especially Iranian ones. These are the two basic points without which there can be no solution,” Mr al-Jubeir concluded.
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