The Russian Foreign Ministry said it did not take seriously whether Syrian President Assad remained in power. It said it was a matter for the Syrian people to decide.

Asked whether keeping Assad in power was a matter of principle for Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on November 3: “We have never said that Assad’s continued rule is the decisive factor. We have said that regime change in Syria could be catastrophic not only locally, regionally, but also cause the current refugee problem.”

Current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman stressed that the above statement was not a change in his position on the issue of Mr. Assad's stay or departure.

Assad’s future was one of the biggest sticking points at last week’s talks in Vienna, Austria. Russia is one of Assad’s strongest backers, in contrast to the United States, Saudi Arabia and many others who want to see him go. Russia began air strikes in Syria at the request of the Syrian government in late September.

According to United Nations statistics, the civil war between government forces and rebels in Syria has killed more than 200,000 people and left millions homeless since 2011./.

According to VOV