Western expectations of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s imminent fall were misplaced, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Western expectations of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s imminent fall were misplaced, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Assad has public support, meaning no peaceful resolution of the conflict is possible without his participation, he added.

“All the forecasts made by our colleagues in the West and some other parties that the people would rise up and oust him never came true. This means one thing: Assad represents the interests of a significant part of Syrian society. So no peaceful solution can be found without his participation,” the top Russian diplomat said on Thursday in an interview with Radio Russia.

Earlier US President Barack Obama reiterated he does “not foresee a situation in which we can end the civil war in Syria while Assad remains in power” and that he is not the legitimate leader of Syria.

According to Lavrov, senior officials around the world are coming to realize the truth of Russia’s position on the issue and are beginning to distance themselves from Washington’s policies. Eradicating ISIL should take precedence over all other issues, he added.

“I believe that [French President Francois] Hollande’s call to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin after those horrific terrorist attacks in Paris, his suggestion to coordinate our efforts and President [Putin’s] response, which was the willingness to do so as allies – those things signify that now level-headed politicians are dropping secondary issues and realizing the need to concentrate on the biggest issue at hand: stopping ISIL’ attempts to spread influence globally,” the minister said.