Russia defends Assad’s power

MOSCOW — The entire territory of Syria must be “liberated,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said in remarks televised Saturday, dismissing demands for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s departure as “thoughtless.”

The Russian statement came as intense clashes were reported in northern Syria between Turkish troops and Turkeybacked opposition fighters with Kurdish-led forces. The Syrian army command condemned the fresh offensive by Turkish troops inside Syria, describing it as “an occupation that will be dealt with by all available means.”

The Turkish military intervened in the Syrian war in August this year under orders from Ankara to clear the border area of Islamic State fighters and U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces linked to Turkey’s own outlawed Kurdish insurgency. The Turkish government considers both to be terrorist groups.

Russia’s Dmitry Peskov said Assad needs to stay in power to prevent the country from falling into the hands of jihadis.

“There are just two options: Assad sitting in Damascus or the Nusra sitting in Damascus,” Peskov said in a reference to the Nusra Front, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria that renamed itself Fatah al-Sham Front earlier this year. “And Assad must sit in Damascus to ensure a political settlement.”

Peskov’s statement comes as a break in the fighting in Aleppo ended, with government forces shelling rebel-held neighborhoods Saturday night.

The pause was intended to allow the evacuation of wounded civilians and fighters from areas that had been devastated by air strikes, but the rebels rejected the offer to evacuate.