REPORT: Putin says swift Assad exit could leave risky political vacuum

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday his country is concerned that a political vacuum will emerge in Syria if President Bashar al-Assad leaves power now and that it could be filled by militants.         

"We are concerned about the possible appearance of a political vacuum in Syria if some decisions about a change of government in Syria are taken now," Putin told a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.                       

"Assad goes today, a political vacuum emerges - who will fill it? Maybe terrorist organizations," Putin said.                    

Putin defended Russian arms deals with Syrian President al-Assad's government and said the West should not send weapons to rebel forces that include "terrorist" groups.         

"If the United States recognizes one of the key Syrian opposition organizations, al-Nusra, as terrorist how can one deliver arms to those opposition members?" Putin added.            

Earlier on Friday, a UN spokeswoman said that senior US and Russian officials will meet international mediator on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, in Geneva on Tuesday to discuss a peace conference.             

"Any talk, any discussion is a positive sign," U.N. spokeswoman Corinne Momal-Vanian told a news briefing in the Swiss city, where a previous round of talks was held on June 5.                       

An international peace conference aimed at ending the conflict in Syria, first muted in June or July, is unlikely to take place before August after G8 leaders clashed with Russia over the nature of a transitional government.                                                   

With Russia and Iran arming President Bashar al-Assad's government forces, and Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters joining the war on his behalf, Western powers have agreed in the last week to step up aid to the mainly Sunni rebels, who were driven out of the strategic town of Qusayr, north of Damascus.                                      

This as, Foreign ministers of the Friends of Syria group of nations, which backs the opposition, are to meet in Qatar on Saturday to discuss ways to help the rebel Free Syrian Army defend the northern city of Aleppo.                                            

Meanwhile, Valerie Amos, the head of the UN relief agency, slammed the "growing violence and disregard for human life and dignity which has reached an all-time high during past weeks".                                                      

"We should look at every single way to help 6.8 million people who are in need in Syria, including not just cross-line but also across borders," Amos said yesterday.                

"I have to put it to the council the fact that if we were able to bring in supplies from the Turkish border it is only 56 kilometers to Aleppo," Amos added.     

"I also have to put it to the council that the Syrian government is against this because they see this as a border which is controlled by the opposition," head of the UN relief agency said.                                   

This as the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad strongly rejects any international cross-border operation. Any Security Council backing is likely to be opposed by Russia, Assad's staunchest ally, according to diplomats.                      

The UN estimates that at least 93,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict since March 2011, adding that the 1.6 million refugees in neighboring countries will grow to 3.4 million by the end of the year.                       

On another note, Spanish police said they have arrested eight people suspected of recruiting jihadist militants for al-Qaeda-linked groups in Syria.                      

The Interior Ministry said the arrests were made early Friday in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, which is located on the northwest African coast, surrounded by Morocco on one side and the Mediterranean Sea on the other.                         

A ministry statement said the group was suspected of sending dozens of potential fighters from Spain, Morocco to Syria, some of whom had carried out suicide attacks. It said others had been sent to training camps.                          

The ministry said the group gathered recruits and provided them with the money and the means to travel abroad under the orders of al-Qaeda.      


REUTERS/AP

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