Report: Bogdanov Had Stormy Meeting with Nasrallah over Assad
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov reportedly had a stormy meeting with Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last month.
The Saudi al-Watan daily on Sunday quoted sources as saying that during his talks with Nasrallah, Bogdanov proposed the possibility of naming a new Syrian president to lead a transitional government.
But Nasrallah snapped back, stressing Bashar Assad is a “red line,” said the sources.
“Any discussion on this issue means the end of dialogue,” the Hizbullah secretary general allegedly said.
Nasrallah's words angered the Russian diplomat who stormed out of the meeting while saying that discussions on the Syrian crisis should only be held with heads of state, the sources told al-Watan.
During his visit to Beirut last month, Bogdanov met with top Lebanese officials. He also traveled to Syria where he held talks with Assad and met with Syrian opposition groups in Turkey.
Russia is pressing a bid to restart a peace process for Syria that would include meetings between government officials and members of the opposition.
In November, Moscow held separate meetings in Moscow with a top opposition leader, Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib, and with a delegation headed by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.
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