Russia ‘close’ to exchanging data on ISIL positions with West

Russian president Vladimir Putin said Bashar Al Assad had told him he was ready to talk to armed opposition groups if they are genuinely committed to dialogue and to combating ISIL.

A man sits in a site damaged by what activists said were barrel bombs dropped by forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar Al Assad in the historic southern town of Bosra Al Sham on October 21, 2015. Alaa Al Faqir/ReutersShow less

MOSCOW // Russia is close to exchanging data about the positions of ISIL militants in Syria with Western countries, president Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, something that Moscow has wanted for weeks.

Speaking a day after the Syrian president made a surprise visit to Moscow, Mr Putin said Bashar Al Assad had told him he was ready to talk to armed opposition groups if they are genuinely committed to dialogue and to combating ISIL.

“I will pull open the curtain a little on my talks with President Assad,” Mr Putin said at a forum of foreign and domestic political scientists in the Russian resort of Sochi on Thursday evening.

“I asked him: ‘What view would you take if we found, now in Syria, an armed opposition which nonetheless was ready to oppose and really fight against terrorists, against Islamic State? What would be your view if we were to support their efforts in fighting Islamic State in the same way we are supporting the Syrian army’.”

“He answered: ‘I would view that positively’,” Mr Putin said. “We are now thinking about this and are trying, if it works out, to reach these agreements.”

Mr Putin said that at the root of the Syrian conflict was not just militancy but also internal tensions – a recognition that at least some of the people who rebelled against Assad’s rule had a legitimate grievance.

Russia has rejected Western calls for Assad to step down and on Thursday, Mr Putin repeated his view that Syria’s leadership could only be decided by the Syrian people via transparent elections.

Meanwhile in Vienna, Saudi foreign minister Adel Al Jubeir said that Russia’s actions in Syria are fuelling the country’s war, which can only be ended with an unconditional exit of Mr Al Assad.

“We believe that the Russian interference in Syria is very dangerous because it exacerbates the conflict,” Mr Al Jubeir said ahead of a meeting with his US, Russia and Turkish counterparts in the Austrian capital on Friday to discuss Syria.

Russia’s air force has flown over 780 sorties against almost 800 targets in Syria since September 30.

“We believe that it will be viewed as Russia inserting itself in a sectarian conflict in the Middle East,” added Mr Al Jubeir. “We’re concerned that this will trigger emotions in the Muslim world that will cause an increase in fighters to go to Syria.”

Almost 80 per cent of Russia’s declared targets in Syria have been in areas not held by ISIL, Russian defence ministry data shows, undermining Moscow’s assertions that its aim is to defeat the group.

When asked whether Mr Al Assad could play a role in any Syrian interim government, Mr Al Jubeir said: “His role would be to leave Syria ... The best case scenario is that we wake up in the morning and Bashar Al Assad is not there.”

Meanwhile in Berlin, US secretary of State John Kerry said the United States, Iran, Russia and Europe agree that Syria should be united and that Syrians should choose their own future leadership, but that Mr Al Assad is the one obstacle to that happening.

Mr Kerry spoke alongside German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who said finding a road to a political solution “depends on whether Washington and Moscow find bridges to each other”.

* Reuters with additional reporting by Associated Press