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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia would accept a Yemen-style power transition inSyria if it were decided by the people, Russia's deputy foreignminister said on Thursday, the latest statement seemingly aimed atdistancing the Kremlin from President Bashar al-Assad. The United States is seeking Russia's support in getting Assad tostep aside but Mikhail Bogdanov said the president's fate was "nota question for us" but for the Syrian people. "Application of the so-called Yemen scenario to resolve theconflict in Syria is possible only if the Syrians themselves agreeto it," Bogdanov said, according to the Interfax news agency. "The Yemen scenario was discussed by the Yemenis themselves. Ifthis scenario is discussed by Syrians themselves and is adopted bythem, we are not against it." Street protests against Assad that began 15 months ago have evolvedlargely into armed insurgency as he stepped up efforts to crushdissent. Two reported massacres of civilians by pro-Assad forcessince May 25 have heightened Western calls for Assad to make wayfor a democratic transition. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said onThursday that Russia "most decisively condemns the barbarous actsof violence", referring to a reported massacre in Mazraat al-Qubeirthat killed 40 women and children. Moscow has used its U.N. Security Council veto and other tools toprotect Assad, who has given Russia a firm foothold in the MiddleEast and is a buyer of Russian weapons. The Kremlin position hasshielded him from condemnation by the council and parried Westernand Arab efforts to push him from power. U.S. President Barack Obama told G8 nations including Russia lastmonth that Assad must leave power and pointed to Yemen as a modelfor a potential transition. Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh ceded power in February to atransitional administration led by his vice president after a yearof mass protests against his autocratic rule and increasing armedanarchy. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Western and Arabnations meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday that a transition strategyin Syria must include Assad's full transfer of power, a seniorState Department official said. CONSTANT CONTACT Clinton is sending Fred Hof, a senior State Department official whoworks on Syria, to Moscow. Hof will meet Russian Foreign Ministryofficials on Friday, Lukashevich said. The senior U.S. official suggested Clinton was trying to lay downminimum benchmarks for how a Syrian transition could unfold withthe hope that Russia might back it. Lukashevich told a weekly briefing Russia was "conducting veryactive dialogue with the (U.S.) administration" on Syria and saidForeign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in "constant contact not onlywith ... Annan but also with Hillary Clinton." "This is a normal process in terms of searching for optimalvariants for strengthening the international coalition in supportof Kofi Annan's plan," Lukashevich said. The central plank ofAnnan's plan was a ceasefire that never took hold. Lukashevich did not assign blame for the killing at Mazraatal-Qubeir but called it a "provocation with the aim of disruptingthe fulfillment of the Annan plan". He avoided a direct answer whenasked whether Russia had offered Assad asylum. Speaking to reporters in Astana, Lavrov reiterated support for abroad meeting on the crisis in Syria, including western states andregional powers such as Iran and Turkey, in order to encourageSyrian commitment to the Annan plan. "The goal is...to agree among external players, without Syria, thatsince we had supported the Annan's plan, we all will use ourinfluence on every Syrian group, government, different oppositiongroups, to push them in .. the direction of stopping militaryaction and (toward) dialogue," he said. Lavrov said Russia was actively trying to court the Syrianopposition to press them to seek a resolution to the violence. Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials havemaintained that Moscow is not out to protect Assad and is open tohis exit from power if this arises from a Syrian political dialoguewithout foreign interference. Bogdanov said Assad's fate was not Russia's to decide. "This is nota question for us, it is a question for the Syrian political forcesand society," he said. In a statement during a visit to Beijing by Putin, a regionalsecurity alliance led by Russia and China said it opposes militaryinterference, forced power handovers and unilateral sanctions indealings with Middle East states. (Additional reporting by Gleb Byranski and Thomas Grove , Editing by Robert Woodward). The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Pelton Turbine Runner Manufacturer , Francis Turbine Runner Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Turgo Hydro Turbine today!
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