Al-Assad should continue playing role in Syria in transition period - Russian expert
MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - Most countries now agree that President Bashar al-Assad should be part of the transition period in Syria, Vitaly Naumkin, director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and senior political adviser to UN Special Envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura, said.
"Speaking about a transition government, a transition body or process, it is perfectly obvious that President al-Assad should continue playing his role in this transition process, and an overwhelming majority of countries think so," Naumkin told reporters at the conference 'The Middle East: When Will Tomorrow Come?' held by the Valdai Discussion Club.
There is no provision on an interim government in the UN Security Council resolution on Syria; it talks about "a transition period," he said.
