Russia says Assad's future is Syria's business
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Russia's deputy foreign minister says the future of President Bashar Assad is an internal Syrian issue and the US-Russia Syria agreement does not deal with it.
Assad has been accused of war crimes in the Syrian civil war and his opponents inside and outside the country have insisted that his departure is a prerequisite for a peace settlement.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency on Friday that Assad's future is "purely Syrian business" and that the cease-fire deal that the United States and Russia signed last week did not discuss Assad's future in any way.
