(Washington Post)- David Ignatius- The West wants Russia to broker a deal to remove Assad from power, but so far President Vladimir Putin hasn't seen enough pragmatic benefit to embrace this course. Assad would presumably depart for Russia, which is said to have offered him exile; the Syrian dictator is rumored to have transferred $6 billion in Syrian reserves to Moscow already. Under this scenario, Assad presumably could avoid international prosecution for war crimes. Iran is also said to have offered exile to Assad and his family. Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said a week ago that Moscow wasn't wedded to Assad's remaining in power.
2012-06-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive