YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS.  The USA thinks that Russia does not correctly use its great influence on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as it refuses to persuade Assad to resign for the sake of stopping civil war in Syria.  United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter expressed such an opinion in his Congress speech.

“Russia has huge influence on Assad, but does not use it correctly. It supports Assad and strikes against the Syrian opposition. It time for Russia to take the right path”, “Armenpress” reports, Carter said.

He stated that the USA continues to see political solution to the conflict as necessary but Assad’s removal is a must as he does not enjoy the support of the majority of his citizens for a long time. “Supporting Assad prolongs the civil war”, TASS reports the head of Pentagon said.