Damascus winning war, West's hopes for regime change unrealistic - Russian ambassador
MOSCOW. July 18 (Interfax) - It is unrealistic to expect power in Syria to change hands in the near future, Russian Ambassador in Damascus Alexander Kinshchak said.
"Still, Western countries are unfortunately linking any assistance to Syria to a so-called political transition, meaning regime change, in Damascus. I believe that it is unrealistic to expect that something could change in Damascus in the near future. They are winning this war," the ambassador said in an interview on the television channel Rossiya-24 on Wednesday.
"So the approach should be changed, and here there are some hopeful signs. So one can probably look to the future with optimism and hope that we'll reach a common understanding," he said.
Foreign aid is needed to rebuild Syria, Kinshchak said.
"And as a matter of fact, if Russia and the United States agree on this issue, they can do a lot," he said.