BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — Syria has been in a state of civil war since March 2011. Government forces have been fighting on multiple fronts against opposition forces and numerous extremist militant groups, such as Islamic State and the Nusra Front.
The United States, which does not consider Assad to be the legitimate president of Syria, has been conducting airstrikes without Damascus' approval and training opposition forces in the country within the framework of an international coalition, which it leads.
Moscow, on the contrary, asserts that the Assad administration is the legitimate Syrian authority.
"Clearly, there is a consensus [among the EU countries] that Assad will not be part of the future leadership of Syria…I can not say how exactly this will be formulated, [the final statement] is being discussed at the moment," the source said.
