[View the story "Russia: 'Syria is losing control'" on Storify ]Russia: 'Syria is losing control' Russian statement on bleak outlook for Assad elicits mixed reactions online. Storified by The Stream · Thu, Dec 13 2012 14:15:48
@ChadHoy this is great esp coming from Russia! hopefully a step in the right directionNora Basha
RT @LibyanBentBladi You know the end of your regime, #Syria, is near when your main weapon supplier, #Russia, acknowledges your demiseSakhr
@plemochoe says Bogdanov's declaration may be a precursor to Russia's shift in policy:
The meaning of the Bogdanov statement is that the Russians need a pause in the action and a corridor to physically get out of #damascusplemochoe
Others were critical of the Russian government's continued support of Assad:
Russia has always lied about the situation in Syria;why are we now paying too much attention to a Russian diplomat's stating of the obvious?BSyria
Stupid Bogdanov “Unfortunately, it is impossible to exclude a victory of the Syrian opposition”. this is how #Russia is defeated, by forceFree Democratic Iran
The announcement from Bogdanov follows the decision by the United States to recognise the newly formed Syrian National Coalition (SNC) as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. In
a December 11 interview with ABC News, US President Barack Obama said the new body was inclusive enough to be representative for all Syrians.
Some of the so called the friends of #Syrian people are participating the bloodshed in #syria by preventing FSA from receiving specific armsKhaledkhoja
Can you comprehend that people are dying from cold and hunger in #Syria? Now what kind of "friends" would allow that? #WhoNeedsEnemies?Amal Hanano
Syria has so many Friends.But when they sit around chatting in Morocco&refuse to do anything,u've gotta wonder what kind of friends they areSakhr
On the US recognition of the SNC, online reactions ranged from hopeful to critical:
Here's another opportunity for us to join forces behind the National Coalition and #HangAssad. YALLA Syrians!Rafif Jouejati
U.S. now picking winners and losers in Syria. Should have intervened earlier and brought Assad down so its opinions could actually matter.abuhatem
.@BarackObama has no right to decide who represents me as a #Syria|n. So-called "Syrian National Coalition" is not fit to represent my shoeSāṭeʿ ساطع
Syrian blogger
@SarabNY argued that the US is at fault for allowing the situation in Syria to deteriorate:
5/8 50k martyrs later US pundits discuss this 'recognition' as carrot 2 encourage ‘good behavior’. Clinton is even missing marakesh mtngs..Sarab
6/8 Good behavior?21 mnth of diplomatic delusions.No tangible aid.Blocking real spprt 4 #FSA only let Syrians bleed& delayed endgameSarab
7/8 Hiding behind non-lethal support has only emboldened Assad & his allies - resulting in decimation, millions fleeing their homes…Sarab
8/8 US played their cards 2 late. Resentment has only deepened. As we've known for a long time, we will finish this alone. #FreeSyriaSarab
On the Middle East blog
Qunfuz , Robin Yassin-Kassab writes that while Syria's political opposition has now received greater recognition, getting to this point was a slow-moving process that took much political wrangling and outside pressure:
This is partially true, and it’s a great shame, a stain on Syrian political elites, that it took threats, promises and cajolements from Qatar, France, Britain and America to achieve this compromise. Yet urgency – the suffering of the people – demands that all strands of Syrian opposition support the Coalition. Though there is still a very long way to go, Asad is losing on the battlefield. By force of arms, areas of the country have been liberated (or partially liberated, as they still suffer terrible bombing). To allow the splintered military leadership to rule in these areas without any central coordination and advice, without any common system of law, would open the way to a warlord-riven and sectarian future (Asad opened this door initially; there’s no need for political elites to push it further open).Finally, Leadership « Qunfuz
Some continue to view the new opposition as "illegitimate" and the current situation as a result of "foreign meddling":
@yiriesrichter because it is an illegitimate opposition. The legal opposition that wants to end this war does not need this recognitionTamara تمارا
As long as there are extremists and foreign meddling, the middle east will never see peace #SyriaSaveSecularSyria
