Putin says will not agree to outside force deciding who rules Syria

Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the Federal Assembly, including State Duma deputies, members of the Federation Council, regional governors and civil society representatives, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, December 3, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he would never agree to any outside force deciding on who should rule Syria and added that there was no way to resolve the Syria crisis other than a political solution. Putin also said Moscow supported in general Washington's initiative to prepare a resolution in the UN Security Council on Syria, adding the draft resolution was acceptable as a whole. (Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova and Christian Lowe; writing by Maria Kiselyova; editing by Dmitry Solovyov)