Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Russia has finally admitted that Bashar al-Assad's government is losing control in Syria, though it was defending and providing the country's government with weapons.

Itar-Tass news agency quoted Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister and presidential special representative for the Middle East, Mikhail Bogdanov, as saying that President Assad is increasingly losing control and the opposition may win, AP reported on Thursday.

Thursday's remarks by Bogdanov are the first acknowledgement by a Russian official that Assad could lose the 21-month-long bloody conflict.

Bogdanov stressed that Moscow hoped the Syrian Action Group would reconvene.

However, he didn't signal Moscow's readiness to edge closer to the West and approve sanctions against Assad's regime.

The Russian deputy minister also said the mission of the joint UN and Arab League special envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi should be supported.

Bogdanov also said on Thursday that Brahimi will soon visit Damascus for talks with the government, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.

"In the near future Brahimi will visit Cairo and then leave for Damascus, to establish contacts with the Syrian authorities," he said. "If he gets some valuable, specific information on how to move the political process forward, then we are ready to get together with our American partners as we agreed in Geneva. We will then listen to a report on the work done by Brahimi in order to understand and analyse and if necessary take further steps to advance the process of fulfillment of the Geneva communiqué."

Bogdanov also said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will receive representatives of the Syrian opposition on Friday.

Meanwhile, bloody clashes continue between government and opposition troops in Syria. At least 16 people were killed and 25 people were injured in a powerful blast in the capital Damascus on Thursday, TRT Haber TV channel reported. Besides, forces loyal to Assad have used Scud missiles against opposition fighters, a US official reportedly said.

The official, speaking to the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity on Wednesday, said the incendiary bombs and scud missiles are a serious escalation of the long-standing conflict.

Administration officials said that over the last week, Assad forces for the first time had fired at least six Soviet-designed Scud missiles in the latest bid to push back rebels who have consistently chipped away at the government's military superiority.

"As the regime becomes more and more desperate, we see it resorting to increased lethality and more vicious weapons moving forward, and we have in recent days seen missiles deployed," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, the New York Times reported.

The disclosure about the Scuds came as representatives of more than 100 nations gathered in Marrakesh, Morocco, for a conference intended to give a political lift to the Syrian opposition, which is formally known as the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. And it came amid an increase in violence in Syria, including reports of a new massacre of about 100 Alawites, Assad's sect, and the large bombing in the capital.

The Friends of Syrian People Group recognized Syria's new opposition coalition as "the legitimate representative of the Syrian people," reiterating that embattled Assad's regime has lost its legitimacy to govern Syria, during the meeting in Marrakesh, Todays Zaman newspaper reported.

During the fourth ministerial meeting of the group, the attendees reiterated that prompt departure of Assad would avoid the loss of more Syrian lives and further destruction.

Speaking to a group of Turkish reporters in Marrakesh at the end of the meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that a timetable had to be set up for Syria.

Davutoglu also said the UN Security Council must make a decision on the matter.

"Joint UN and Arab League special envoy on Syria Brahimi's initiative is the last chance," Davutoglu stated.

The group also stressed that the Syrian regime will not escape punishment for its violations of international law.

Syrian opposition groups agreed last month to reorganize themselves under the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces at a meeting in Doha. Separately, opposition commanders across Syria agreed to create a united military command during a meeting last week in Antalya, while members of local administrative councils announced a joint organizational structure for local administration last week in İstanbul.

The Friends of Syrian People called on the Syrian regime to immediately cease its attacks and fully withdraw its troops from urban areas as the first step towards a comprehensive cessation of violence.

Referring to recent Western intelligence reports suggesting that Assad could use weapons in order to suppress the opposition forces, the countries attending the meeting in Marrakesh said that "any use of chemical weapons in Syria will be abhorrent and that this would draw a serious response from the international community."

Turkey, France, Britain and Arab countries that are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have already recognized the coalition formed in Doha as the "sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people."

US President Barack Obama, in an interview on Tuesday with ABC News, formally recognized the coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

Syria has been wracked by violence, with at least 20,000 people, mostly civilians, killed since the uprising against President Assad began some 21 months ago. The violence has spawned more than 465,000 refugees, while more than 2.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to UN estimates.