MOSCOW (REUTERS) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday (April 1) dismissed as "dirty leaks" reports on an alleged agreement between Russia and the United States on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"Our American partners cannot publicly call into question this formula that... only the people of Syria decide all the questions about the future of Syria," Lavrov told a news conference.

"And in these dirty leaks which distort reality we obviously see Washington's inability to force some of its allies in the region and in Europe... to give the Syrian people a sovereign right to decide their destiny as well as who will be their leader," Lavrov added.

The Arabian newspaper al-Hayat reported on Thursday that US Secretary of State John Kerry had told several Arab countries that Russia and the US reached an understanding on the future of Syria's peace process, including Assad's departure to another country at some unspecified stage.

The Kremlin said the report was untrue.