President Vladimir Putin said in an interview released Friday that Russia has no "right" to ask Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to leave power.<br />His remarks came just days before leaders from the world's top 20 industrial powers gather in Turkey for a summit which begins Sunday and is likely to be dominated by the Syrian conflict.<br />But Putin, who hosted the embattled Syrian leader for surprise talks at the Kremlin last month, said Russia could not and would not ask him to quit.<br />"Syria is a sovereign country, Bashar al-Assad is a president elected by the people.<br />So do we have the right to discuss with him these issues?<br />Of course not," Putin said in an interview with the Interfax and Anatolia news agencies.<br />Putin reiterated that Russia's bombing campaign in Syria would last for the duration of an offensive by the Syrian army.<br />"So the duration of our military's stay will be determined solely by the implementation of this goal," Putin said.
