Russian President’s Special Representative for the Middle East and African Countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Russia believes, in relation to settling the crisis in Syria, that the future and leadership of the country are for the Syrians alone to decide. His remarks came in comments on statements published by U.S. newspapers saying that Washington expects President Bashar al-Assad to stay in office until March 2017. Bogdanov told the reporters that there was no agreement about this issue in the framework of the International Syria Support Group meetings in Vienna, adding that this matter can only be decided by the Syrians themselves.