Asked about the fate of Assad, Lavrov reiterated Russia's stance, saying foreign players should not force the president to resign.

Russia also opposed setting up a no-fly zone over Syria because it would be a violation of that country's sovereignty, Lavrov said in an interview with Sky News Arabia.

During a visit to Turkey on Aug 12, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed the US was considering a no-fly zone. Xue said the West will be cautious about the move for fear of magnifying the turmoil in the whole Middle East region.

Syria's state-run TV aired footage of Assad performing Eid prayers in a mosque in Damascus on Sunday, his first appearance in public following a bombing in Damascus last month that killed the country's defense minister and three other top security officials.

Assad's appearance comes amid much speculation on the whereabouts of Vice-President Farouk al-Sharaa, who is said to have defected to the opposition. On Saturday, the vice-president's office refuted the defection, saying he "did not think, at any moment, of leaving the country" and welcomed the appointment of the new UN envoy to Syria.

Timeline of the Syrian crisis

January 2011 - Large-scale anti-government protest breaks out in Syria.

February 2012 - The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Kofi Annan as the UN-Arab League Special Envoy on Syria.

April - The UN Security Council authorized the UN Supervision Mission in Syria, including a 90-day deployment of 300 unarmed observers.

July - The mandate of the UN military observer expired, but the UNSC approved extending the mission for an additional 30 days.

Aug 2 - Annan announced he would resign from his post as the joint international envoy for Syria on Aug 31.

Aug 6 - Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Hijab was confirmed to have defected with his family to Jordan.

Aug 16 - The Security Council ordered the end of the observer mission, but backed calls for a political office to remain in Damascus.

Aug 17 - The UN announced the appointment of former Algerian foreign minister Lakhdar Brahimi as the new joint envoy for Syria.

AP and AFP contributed to this story.

zhaoshengnan@chinadaily.com.cn