Putin advocates for a new Syrian constitution

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Syria needs to start framing a new constitution to find a viable solution to the civil war being waged in the country. He has, however, admitted that the process would not be easy and that the recent crisis that ensued between Saudi Arabia and Iran would further complicate the situation in Syria.

"I believe it's necessary to move towards constitutional reform (in Syria). It's a complicated process, of course,” Putin told German newspaper Bild on Jan. 5. “And after that, on the basis of the new constitution, (Syria should) hold early presidential and parliamentary elections.”

Putin, who has been backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his fight against the Islamic State, added that Russian military will be assisting parts of the Syrian opposition to fight back the Islamic State as well.

“We are coordinating our joint actions with them and support their offensive operations on different parts of the front with strikes by our air force,” he said. “I am talking about hundreds, thousands of armed people, who combat Islamic State.”

Russia has been repeatedly accused of supporting the Assad regime and striking against the Syrian opposition rather than against the Islamic State. Putin has, however, denied the allegations, saying that the videos that are being used to support the allegations appeared even before Russia started airstrikes against the militant group..

The Russian president referred to the US airstrike upon a hospital in northern Afghanistan that killed 20 people, but said it was never adequately covered by the western media.

He also said that the row between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the execution of a Shiite cleric by the former would make efforts to bring about peace in Syria even more difficult. The president added that Russia is willing to extend any kind of cooperation needed to resolve the situation.