Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow counts on Washington to convince "Syrian opposition" to hold constructive dialogue with the government

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow counts on Washington to convince "Syrian opposition" to hold constructive dialogue with the government, adding that President Assad agrees on the need to create effective leadership in Syria, Sputnik reported.
   
"Most important thing in Syria is to avoid that country falls apart, risk of this is currently high," he noted.

Delivering his address at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, he pointed out that he agrees with the US proposal to include "Syrian opposition" representatives in current Syrian government.

On the US Presidential Elections

Commenting on the upcoming presidential elections in the US, Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to cooperate with any elected US president, however adding that he expects sense of responsibility to push next US president to cooperate with Russia.

"World needs a powerful country like the United States, but Russia is not interested in anyone else telling it what to do," the Russian leader said.

Moscow also does not want US pressure to reflect on Russia-EU cooperation, Putin said.