Russia Says It Wants United and 'friendly' Syria

Russia Advocates for a Unified and Cooperative Syria Amidst Turmoil

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia wants to see a united and friendly Syria because instability there could affect the whole of the Middle East, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

Clashes between supporters of former president Bashar al-Assad and the country's new Islamist rulers have killed more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians. Moscow was a major backer of Assad, who fled to Russia in December after his ouster.

Russia has two strategically important military bases in Syria, which it is hoping to retain in the wake of Assad's fall.

"This is too explosive a region and, of course... the destabilisation or disintegration of one of the countries in the region can have disastrous consequences for the region as a whole. Therefore, we want to see Syria united, prosperous, developing, predictable and friendly," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

He said Russia was in contact with other countries about the situation in Syria.

On Monday, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, was cited by state-run TASS news agency as saying that Russia is coordinating with the United States in connection with the escalating violence in Syria.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Filipp Lebedev and Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)