Russia: Assad foes cannot set conditions for Syria talks

The Syrian opposition must not be allowed to set conditions for attending a peace conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in comments published on Tuesday. Despite pressure on President Vladimir Putin at a G8 summit to tone down Russian support for Bashar al-Assad, Lavrov signaled there was no change in Moscow\'s view that the Syrian leader\'s exit cannot be a precondition for the peace talks. He said both sides in Syria\'s civil war must \"refrain from setting any preconditions,\" a reference to a statement by the Syrian opposition last month that it would attend the peace conference only if a deadline was set for a settlement forcing Assad to leave power, Reuters reported. Lavrov said Syria\'s government agreed to take part in the conference and formed a negotiating team to be led by Foreign Minister Walid al-Mualem. \"With the opposition it is more difficult,\" he said, adding that Syrian opposition calls for the government\'s removal were out of line with efforts to reach a consensus on a path to peace.