Moscow, September 8

Russian Foreign ministry yesterday denied that Russia is in agreement with the United States and Saudi Arabia to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“We are not engaged in social engineering, nor do we appoint or dismiss foreign presidents either by ourselves or in conspiracy with someone else. This applies to Syria as well as other countries in the region, of which the peoples, I’m convinced, are capable of deciding their own destiny,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

The statement declared that rumours about the trilateral agreement were spread by “some European, in particular Francophone, media,” without identifying the specific source.

He claimed Western politicians might attempt to shift to Russia part of responsibility for the tragedy in the Middle East and for the follow-up threats to European and international stability.