Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Lord of the Baath...
to get him to leave Syria, but that Moscow would not mediate on their behalf, according to Russian news services.
"Several countries in the region have turned to us and suggested 'Tell Assad we are ready to fix him up,' " the foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, told news hounds who accompanied him on a flight home from the Russia-European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
summit meeting in Brussels, in comments carried by the Interfax and RIA-Novosti news agencies. "And we answered 'What do we have to do with it? If you have such plans, approach him directly.' "
"If there are people wishing to give him some kind of guarantees, be our guest," he said. "We will be the first to cross ourselves and say 'Thank God, the carnage is over.' But whether this will end the carnage -- that is far from obvious. It is not obvious at all."
He went on to cite "very serious and well-founded predictions from Western intelligence services suggesting that the fall of the regime will hardly bring an end to this drama and tragedy, that instead the battle will continue with new force."
Mr. Lavrov's comments follow recent signals from Russia that it sees the military balance shifting, but has not changed its strong opposition to international intervention in Syria.