US, Russia Mull “Yemeni Plan” To End Syrian Crisis

The United States and Russia have been working on a plan to end the Syrian crisis. The plan includes the transfer of authorities by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to another figure in return for “a comfortable exile” in Russia, the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Thursday.

The Tel Aviv-based daily pointed out that the Russian plan was meant to restore stability to Syria and stop the killings by the regime. The plan is based on the “Yemeni model,” which saw the transfer of powers from President Ali Abdullah Saleh to his deputy. The Yemeni paln was initiated by the U.S. and the Gulf states. Saleh signed the deal earlier this week.

The newspaper added that “senior U.S. Foreign Ministry officials have been conducting talks with Russian representatives about the solution in Syria along the lines of the solution in Yemen.” According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the plan provides that Assad agrees to transfer his powers to an acceptable figure by the Americans and the Russians and in return will get an asylum in a resort near Moscow. The report pointed out that the United States is trying to persuade Russia to exercise more pressure on Assad to agree to the plan.