MOSCOW – Russia's foreign minister says Moscow would welcome any country's offer of a safe haven to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, but underlined that Moscow itself has no intention of giving him shelter if he steps down. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that countries in the region he wouldn't name publicly had asked Russia to convey their offer of a safe passage to Assad. He said that Russia responded by telling them to go directly to Assad. “If there is anyone willing to provide him guarantees, they are welcome!” Lavrov told reporters on board a plane returning from Brussels where he attended a Russia-EU summit. “We would be the first to cross ourselves and say: “Thank God, the carnage is over! If it indeed ends the carnage, which is far from certain.” He also said the Syrian government has pulled its chemical weapons together to one or two locations from several arsenals across the country to keep them safe amid the rebel onslaught. “According to the information we have, as well as the data of the US and European special services, the government is doing everything to secure it,” he said. “The Syrian government has concentrated the stockpiles in one or two centers, unlike the past when they were scattered across the country.” Lavrov said neither side can win the war in Syria, and that China and Russia would be unable to persuade Assad to quit if they tried. “Listen, no one is going to win this war,” he said. Moscow contends it is not trying to prop Assad up, but Lavrov reiterated that it has no intention of helping remove him - and said it anyway lacks the influence to make that happen. “Assad is not going anywhere, no matter what anyone tells him, be it China or Russia,” he said. — Agencies
