Russia warns Assad of dire consequences on vow to retake all of Syria

Russia’s envoy to the UN on Friday warned long-term ally President Bashar al-Assad over his vow to retake all of Syria, saying he faced dire consequences if he did not comply with Moscow over the peace process. "Russia has invested very seriously in this crisis, politically, diplomatically and now also militarily,“ Vitaly Churkin told Kommersant newspaper, referring to an international agreement to cease hostilities sealed in Munich last week. If Syria "follows Russia’s leadership in resolving this crisis, then they have a chance to come out of it in a dignified way,” Churkin stressed.

If they proceed on the basis that no ceasefire is necessary and they need to fight to a victorious end, then this conflict will last a very long time and that is terrifying to imagine.

Vitaly Churkin

“If they in some way stray from this path – and this is my personal opinion – a very difficult situation could arise. Including for themselves,” he warned. In an interview with AFP last week, Assad defiantly pledged to retake the whole of the country, speaking before the plan for a nationwide “cessation of hostilities” in Syria was announced. Churkin however also suggested that Assad’s comments were made for political impact. "It isn’t worth putting too much significance into one statement or another and dramatising them,“ he said.

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