French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday that the “neutralisation” of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was a pre-condition to resolving the crisis in the war-torn country.
“We must reduce the terrorist influence without maintaining Assad. The two are bound up together,” Hollande told a gathering of French diplomats in Paris.
“We must create a political transition in Syria, it’s a necessity.”
He laid out three conditions for resolving the crisis — the first of which was the “neutralisation” of Assad.
The second was to offer “solid guarantees to all the moderate opposition forces, notably the Sunnis and Kurds, and to preserve state structures and the unity of Syria.”
The final condition, which he said would be “decisive”, was to bring together regional actors with a stake in the conflict.
President Khoja said that the threat of terrorism will not be eliminated from the area unless Assad is removed and his regime dismantled, stressing the need to form a transitional governing in which Assad and his security organs are excluded. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Al-Jazeera)