Saudi FM renews rejection of any role for Assad in Syria's future

(MENAFN- The Peninsula)

Riyadh: Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir emphasized the importance of finding a solution for the Syrian crisis based on the principles of Geneva (1) as the basis for it to establish a transitional council to run the affairs of the country maintain civil and military institutions to prepare Syria for a bright future that would contribute to the provision of adequate and healthy atmosphere for a new constitution for Syria and to prepare it to conduct fair elections pointing out that such a solution should has neither a place nor a presence of Bashar al-Assad.

During a joint press conference with visiting British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond here on Wednesday Al-Jubeir said that concerned countries over Syria will hold a meeting in Vienna on Thursday and Friday in order to reach an ideal solution that would bring better future for Syria and to reach an understanding about what should these countries took to achieve that goal.

Al-Jubeir said that Vienna meeting last week and the Paris meeting which included four countries the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia United States of America Russia and Turkey comprised an expanded group of allied countries supporting the Syrian opposition and on Thursday- God willing - there will be a meeting in Vienna to coordinate positions and then a meeting on Friday with an expanded group of countries supporting the Syrian opposition and the meeting will include other countries of the region to test their intentions with regard to finding a solution to the Syrian crisis expressing hope that these efforts will bear fruit according to Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

In regard to Iraq Al-Jubeir said that he explained to the British Foreign Secretary how to support the Iraqi government's efforts in implementing reforms that have been agreed on last year to involve all Iraqi communities in decision-making process to enhance counterterrorism endeavors in Iraq.

He noted that the situation in Yemen was discussed too due to the importance of finding a political solution to that crisis as well as the peace process in the Middle East and the importance of finding a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of international legitimacy and the Arab peace initiative.

For his part the British Foreign Secretary said that he agreed with his Saudi counterpart to accelerate political discussions in Yemen to ensure bringing Huthi and Saleh forces to negotiating table and be willing to engage in serious discussions on the formation of a government foundations that meet all interests in Yemen and respect the legitimate government which now operates from Saudi Arabia noting that they also talked about opening the Red Sea ports to more commercial traffic and not only for humanitarian assistance but also to include commercial shipments of fuel and food.

He stressed the readiness of Britain to support any action taken by the Alliance to promote access to Yemeni ports and enhance international commercial traffic.

Regarding the Syrian issue Hammond said that Friday's meeting in Vienna which will be attended by Russia and regional powers including Iran will discuss possibility to bridge the gap that exists now between the allied countries in supporting the Syrian opposition and the Russian and Iranian position.

QNA