The deputy foreign minister of Russia, Gennady Gatilov said on Monday that Syrian president Assad, did not "necessarily" need to remain in power "at the end of the political process".
See here for article by The Times.
Gatilov said,
“We have never said or insisted that Assad necessarily had to remain in power at the end of the political process,”
“It would be good to . . . see a political will from both sides that would allow us to move toward a settlement,” he said. “And in that case, it would probably be appropriate to talk about the Yemeni model.”
Meanwhile however, talks on Monday, between Russia's President Putin, and the EU President, Herman Van Rompuy, ended with no agreement beyond the Annan peace plan.