Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday Riyadh’s position on the conflict in Syria has not changed and that there is no place for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the future of the country.
Al Jubeir, who was speaking after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, reiterated that Assad “must go and Syrian army must be maintained and it must be used in the war against ISIS after the departure of Assad.”
He explained his country’s consistent position on a political solution to the Syrian crisis which he said must be based on the Geneva I conference which calls for forming a transitional governing body.
Al-Jubeir stresses that Assad must not be included in any future arrangements as he is the main reason for the destruction of Syria and the rise of terrorist organizations.
As Jubeir also said in an interview with Germany’s foreign minister yesterday that “the sooner Assad leaves the easier it will be to maintain state institutions.”
He calls on Iran to withdraw all of its militias from the Syrian territory, including the Hezbollah militia, stressing that Iran cannot be part of the solution since it is part of the problem.
President Khoja said earlier that “while Assad’s army is collapsing, the army of the revolution is steadily moving towards more integration, cohesion and the formation of a high military command. Assad will no doubt lose the battle if he insists on pursuing a militarily solution to the crisis.”
Khoja confirmed the existence of an agreement to exclude Assad from any role in the transitional process. “Pressure must be put on the Assad regime to bring it back to the negotiating table and agree on the details of transitional process.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)
