Putin: Russia not looking to oust Assad, urges negotiations

Russia does not seek to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and wants parties to the conflict to sit to the negotiations table to stop the “massacre” and end the “catastrophe,” President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.“We do not think that Assad should leave today, as our partners suggest. In this case, tomorrow we will have to decide what to do and where to go,” Putin said in a TV interview, according to RIA Novosti.“We believe it is necessary to sit everyone down at the negotiating table, so that all warring parties could reach an agreement on how their interests will be protected and in what way they will participate in the future governance of the country,” he said.Putin pointed that French President Francois Hollande, who visited Moscow in March, had meaningful ideas on how to end the conflict in Syria, adding that Russia is ready to support them.“I think he has some interesting ideas that can be implemented, but it requires some diplomatic work. We are ready to support these ideas. We need to try and put them into practice,” Putin said