The humanitarian situation in Syria is still very difficult, Russian Ambassador to Canada, Oleg Stepanov affirmed, saying “it is incorrect to link the provision of reconstruction assistance to the Syrians to certain political conditions and requirements.”

“We would have liked the West to make its policy towards Syria more realistic,” Russia Today website quoted Stepanov as saying in a statement on Wednesday.

He noted that Moscow is ready to hold a substantive dialogue with Canada on the situation in Syria if it is interested.

“Any discussion of this issue must be based on facts on the ground,” the Russian diplomat said, adding that “Ottawa’s stance regarding the Syrian file is known to Moscow and in some respects it converges with the Russian stance.”

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)