President Assad’s removal could be part of a solution to the crisis in Syria, a leading Russian official said yesterday, signalling a significant policy shift in Moscow.
“We have never said or insisted that Assad necessarily had to remain in power at the end of the political process,” Gennady Gatilov, the Deputy Foreign Minister, said. It was the first time that Moscow had countenanced the departure of its close ally, which it has shielded from United Nations sanctions.
One way out of the impasse, Western diplomats have suggested, is a negotiated transfer of power in Damascus to an Assad ally. This year, Yemen’s President Saleh was persuaded to step down, much to the relief of his war-weary nation.
Mr Gatilov, while accusing the Syrian opposition of intransigence, no longer ruled out such a solution. “It would be good to . . . see a political will from both sides that would allow us to move toward a settlement,” he said. “And in that case, it would probably be appropriate to talk about the Yemeni model.”
The Russian statement came as senior UN officials admitted that they were working on a Plan B to Kofi Annan’s ceasefire plan. The proposal is in tatters after the massacre in Houla last month in which 108 civilians were killed by suspected regime paramilitaries. The new plan will seek to create a Syria Contact Group, bringing together the Arab League and the five permanent members of the Security Council.
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Diplomatic sources said that there were back channels open between Moscow and Washington to discuss the crisis, but noted that Russia had a huge stake in Syria, a key regional ally since the Cold War.
As well as major arms contracts with Damascus, about 10,000 Russian citizens live in Syria as technical and industrial advisers, and about 30,000 Russian women were married to Syrians.
President Putin, who met EU officials on Monday to discuss the crisis, flew to Beijing yesterday for a meeting with President Hu Jintao. The two men publicly continue to shield Mr Assad, and urged the international community to support the Annan plan.
Mr Annan is due to brief the UN on new proposals, including creating a Syria Contact Group, in New York tomorrow and then meet Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, in Washington on Friday.
The Assad regime hit out at its detractors yesterday, declaring several Western ambassadors — including Britain’s — persona non grata after the expulsion of its own diplomats worldwide following the Houla massacre. Britain dismissed it as a “reciprocal gesture”, and noted that all of its diplomatic staff left Damascus three months ago.
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As the mood shifted further against Mr Assad, Syria agreed to allow the UN and international agencies to expand humanitarian operations. The UN is to open field offices in four provinces.
Regime forces appeared to be suffering heavier losses, it is claimed. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in Britain, said that rebels had killed 113 government soldiers since last Friday.
Activists said another 22 soldiers were killed in fighting around the town of Haffa in Latakia province. The rebels said government troops were backed by helicopter gunships.