Lavrov: No way to persuade Assad to leave

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in his most definitive statement yet said there was “no possibility” of persuading Syrian ruler Bashar Assad to leave Syria. When he met international Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in Moscow sAturday,  Lavrov said that insisting on Assad's departure as a precondition for peace talks would cost more lives after already killing tens of thousands. Saturday broke all daily records in the 21-month Syrian conflict with close to 400 deaths. That figure, acording to Syrian activists, included 220 individuals massacred by the Syrian army in the Homs district of Deir Balbah after rebel forces withdrew. Brahimi said that unless the parties sit down and start talking, Syria will become a hell on earth.