Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has denied that Russia is forcing the terms outlined in the draft Constitution on Syrians, which were presented during the Syria peace talks in Astana.
"We positively disagree with such assessments, which are inaccurate and are distorting the reality. Russia is not trying to force either [crisis] settlement terms or the basic law of the country on Syrians," Zakharova told reporters at her weekly press conference on Friday.
Zakharova also underlined that Russia has been doing everything possible to implement the truce, but believes that the future of Syria must be determined by Syrians themselves.
"Only Syrians can ensure the preservation of their motherland as a united, sovereign, and multinational country," she said.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson stressed that the draft Constitution was only an attempt to reunite the Assad regime and opposition groups.
Speaking to Sputnik on Thursday, Yahya Aridi, an opposition delegation advisor in Astana, said that the representatives of the Syrian opposition groups previously declined to look into the Russian proposal of constitutional change during Astana talks, urging the establishment of a lasting truce before considering political transition.
The Russian delegation under the chairmanship of Alexander Lavrentyev submitted the draft for new Syrian constitution to the opposition groups during the Astana talks earlier this week. Lavrentyey also said on Tuesday that Russia's intention was only to accelerate the peace process and not interfering with internal issues.
Russia, Iran and Turkey organized the Astana talks on the Syrian crisis in the Kazakh capital on January 23 and 24. The talks were the first meeting, in which representatives of the Assad regime and Syrian opposition came together to discuss peace since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
