FM: Saudi position on Syria ‘unchanged’

Saudi Arabia’s position on Syria is unchanged as the kingdom calls for President Bashar al-Assad’s step down, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said on Tuesday in a press conference with his French counterpart.

In his remarks, Jubeir insisted that Assad has no future in Syria.

Speaking at a joint news conference with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Jubeir said that it was up to the Houthi group and former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bring an end to the conflict.

“We believe that a political solution is better in Yemen but the Houthis preferred the armed option,” he said.

He also said that denying Iran’s support for the Houthis is “like saying the sun does not rise from the East.”

“Iran’s involvement in the affairs of other states represents a regional problem,” he added.

Fabius, in remarks translated into Arabic, called on Russia to use its influence to stop Assad from using barrel bombs in Syria and said Paris did not want Syria to descend into chaos.

[With Reuters]