Safi to Russia: Assad Must Go, No Assurance on Survival

Spokesman for the Syrian Coalition, Louay Safi, said that Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, is obviously letting go of the idea of Assad’s survival in light of the international changes experienced by the region. This comes after statements by Medvedev in which he suggested guarantees for the safe departure of Assad and added that “The departure of Bashar Assad from power without assurances as to his personal fate is not realistic.” Safi added that this retreat from the principle of the survival of Assad is “realistic and that it has become an urgent need for the international community to acknowledge that it is impossible to leave Syria in the chaos created by Assad and his regime which affects the development of the whole region.” Safi stated that “Assad’s fate can’t possibly be discussed until there is agreement on his departure” and said, “the important thing at this stage is to agree on the principle of Assad’s departure.” Medvedev questioned whether his ally Assad would agree to step down when considering the fate of the ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.  (Source: Syrian Coalition)