Despite Syrian People’s Lives Having Been ‘Turned Into Nightmare,’ President Assad Remains ‘Calm And Composed’: Russian PM

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Friday that his country would continue to support “only the legitimate authorities” in Syria, reaffirming Russia’s endorsement of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Russian PM posted on his verified page on Facebook that Syria had changed a lot since he visited Damascus in 2010. According to him, the Middle Eastern country was “calm and civilized” in those days, but the life of the people of Syria changed in 2011. “Since 2011, the life of the Syrian people turned into a nightmare: War, terror, death, destruction of religious sites and monuments of the world's values," Facebook translates Medvedev’s Russian post.

Despite the change in the political situation in Syria over the years, Medvedev believes President Assad has not changed. “Despite the events of the past years, President Bashar Assad was as calm and composed during his visit to Moscow as he had been five years ago,” the Russian PM said.

According to Medvedev, Russia is fighting terrorism in Syria. “Acting in response to a request from the Syrian leadership, Russia has come to its rescue, and we are now fighting terrorism together,” he posted on Facebook.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a talk with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Syria. They were later joined by Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu and his Saudi counterpart, Adel al-Jubeir.

Unlike what Moscow claims, Western leaders believe Russia is more interested in protecting Assad than fighting terrorism in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the United States wanted to “get rid of Assad,” while his aim is “to help President Assad claim victory over terror,” AFP reported.