Russia says Assad made ‘grave, perhaps fatal error’

He knows exactly what happened to Gaddafi and Mubarak, as well as Saddam Hussein. When his last grip on power starts to give way, he will likely choose to set the entire Middle East on fire rather than retire and spend the rest of his life in a secluded beach house.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has committed ‘grave, perhaps fatal error’ and that chances of him retaining power are getting “smaller and smaller” every day.

Medvedev made the statements in an interview with CNN. His remarks were the most vocal Russian statement that Assad’s days could be numbered. But he reiterated calls for talks between the government and its foes and repeated Moscow’s position that Assad must not be pushed out by external forces.

…

Medvedev added that the Syrian president should have brought the opposition to the negotiating table a long time ago, claiming this was his mistake and this is what could lead to his fate.

…

“The task for the United States, the Europeans and regional powers … is to sit the parties down for negotiations, and not just demand that Assad go and then be executed like (the late former Libyan leader Muammar) Gaddafi or be carried to court sessions on a stretcher like (Egypt’s) Hosni Mubarak.”

Full article: Russia says Assad made ‘grave, perhaps fatal error’ (Al Arabiya News)