No Assad in the future — Saudi FM

BERLIN — Bashar Assad will not be ruling Syria in the future and Russia's military interventions will not help him stay in power, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir told a German newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.

"There will be no Bashar Assad in the future," Al Jubeir told newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

"It might take three months, it might take six months or three years — but he will no longer carry responsibility for Syria. Period."

Saying that the Syrian people's determination to topple Assad was unbroken despite heavy Russian air strikes and persecution within the country, Jubeir criticised Russia's involvement in the five-year-long war.

He said that Assad's previous calls for help to his own military, Iran, Hizbollah and Shiite militia forces from Iraq and Pakistan were all in vain.

"Now he called the Russians, but they won't be able to help him either," Jubeir said.

Russia entered the war on September 30 2015 in support of the Syrian president. At least 250,000 people have been killed, 11 million made homeless and hundreds of thousands have fled to Europe since the conflict began in 2011.

Moscow has said its air strikes are against the extremist militant groups Daesh and Al Nusra Front, but other countries and rebel groups say the attacks target civilians.

Asked about a more direct military involvement with “boots on the ground”, Jubeir said such discussions were currently under way among the member states of a US-led coalition against Daesh.

"If the coalition should decide to deploy special forces in the fight against Daesh in Syria, Saudi Arabia will be ready to participate," he said.

At a peace and security conference currently underway in Munich, major powers said a peace deal could only be reached if Moscow stops bombing insurgents other than Daesh.

But Russia pressed on with its air strikes in support of Assad, who vowed to fight until he regained full control of the country.