Russian President Putin dashes G8 hopes for Syrian breakthrough

Vladimir Putin, David Cameron, along with Barack Obama

ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland: Vladimir Putin of Russia has made clear to its Western allies that he can not support peace talks that assume the steeping down of Syrian President Basharul Asad.

The Guardian reported that, "It was now unlikely that a peace conference would take place in July, since the Russian president could not agree with the other G8 leaders on the terms of a post-Assad cabinet"

The Newspaper further reported that, "The Russians insist that both sides attending any peace conference should be able to choose their own delegations".

According to The G-8 summit's joint statement on ending the Syrian civil war will not mention whether Bashar Assad must step down from power as part of any peace settlement, a senior Russian diplomat said Tuesday ahead of the document's publication.

Russian diplomat Ryabkov said the talks should aim to create a transitional coalition government for Syria, but should not predetermine whether Assad can participate in that government.