MOSCOW, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Claims Syrian government forces had disintegrated were exaggerated, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said Thursday.
Some experts had said Syrian government troops could not confront the rebels, but the current situation proved they were wrong, Serdyukov told reporters after returning from Paris, where he participated in the Russia-France Security Cooperation Council with Russian and French foreign ministers and his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius.
The French side agreed with Russia there was no military solution to the crisis in Syria, he said.
"(Syrian president) Bashar al-Assad won't step down voluntarily, as this is equal to suicide. He will fight till the end," Serdyukov said.
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned in Paris of continued violence in Syria if President Assad was ousted.
Fabius admitted Paris and Moscow failed to bridge their differences over Assad's role in any future transitional governing body.
Fabius and Lavrov's meeting came amid escalating violence in Syria where chaos erupted on Wednesday after three explosions rocked the capital Damascus, leaving 12 people dead.
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