Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Thursday that to eliminate militant group Islamic State, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must be removed from power.
Jubeir also said that Assad was the magnet “that attracted foreign fighters from all over the world to fight on the side of Daesh (Islamic State) against Assad’s regime,” he told Al Arabiya al-Hadath television channel in Vienna, after talks with Austria’s foreign minister.
“We discussed the situation in Syria and how to find a peaceful solution for the conflict that guarantees Syria’s future and leads to a transitional period that does not include Bashar al-Assad,” Jubeir said.
Russia’s actions in Syria are fuelling the country’s war, which can only be ended with an unconditional exit of President Bashar al-Assad, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said ahead of a meeting with his U.S., Russian and Turkish counterparts.
“We believe that the Russian interference in Syria is very dangerous because it exacerbates the conflict,” Jubeir told reporters in Vienna, adding the Saudis had made this clear to the Russians.
When asked whether Assad could play a role in any Syrian interim government Jubeir said: “His role would be to leave Syria.”
