Moscow says Assad's fate should be removed from current Syrian talks agenda

A senior Russian diplomat said Monday that discussions about the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be removed from the current agenda of peace negotiations.

"Let us now put this topic off and let the Syrian parties determine when and on what basis this issue should be raised again," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA Novosti news agency.

Ryabkov denied that there is any common stance between Moscow and Washington regarding the fate of Assad.

Media reports last week said that Moscow and Washington had reached an agreement on the ouster of Assad.

Russian officials have repeatedly refused to exclude Assad from his country's process of political settlement, saying Syrians themselves should decide the future of their country, while Washington and some of its allies have insisted on Assad's departure.

Meanwhile, Ryabkov stressed the significance of coordination with the United States in fighting terrorists in Syria, saying that the two sides are working on a daily basis in specifying and expanding the lists of terrorists.

A cessation of hostilities plan under the auspices of the United States and Russia went into effect late February in all Syrian cities. The truce has so far been largely adhered to despite sporadic violations.

The latest round of Syrian peace talks, which started on March 14, was wrapped up in Geneva with a 12-point paper delivered to both sides for further consideration. The next round of negotiations is expected to convene sometime around Sunday. Endi