Russia could change position on Syria

Russia could abandon support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if it were to learn that he is not committed to handing over control of his chemical weapons arsenal, the chief of staff for President Vladimir Putin suggested on Saturday. "I'm talking theoretically and hypothetically, but if we became sure that Assad is cheating, we could change our position," Sergei Ivanov said in comments reported by Russian media, at a conference in Stockholm organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a British think-tank.