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By Mick Krever, CNN
Updated 1115 GMT (1915 HKT) February 13, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkwTVrY10pU
Munich, Germany (CNN)Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister says if the Syrian political process fails, President Bashar al-Assad will have to be removed “by force.”
“I believe Bashar al-Assad is weak and I believe Bashar al-Assad is finished,” Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview in Munich, Germany.
Saudi Arabia is prepared to contribute ground troops to the fight in Syria, but only as part of a U.S.-led coalition, he said.
“Bashar al-Assad will leave — have no doubt about it. He will either leave by a political process or he will be removed by force.”
“We will push as much as we can to ensure that the political process works. But if it doesn’t work, it will be because of the obstinance of the Syrian regime and that of its allies.”
“And should that prove to be the case, then it becomes clear that there is no option to remove Bashar al-Assad except by force.”
No time for celebrations
The political process has been in doubt, especially of late. U.N.-brokered talks were put on ice almost as soon as they started this month.
Hopes were buoyed here in Munich after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced an agreement that would, in theory, lead to a pause of sieges to allow humanitarian aid delivery, and an eventually de-escalation of hostilities.
Jubeir called the deal “very important.”
But U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told Amanpour the time for celebration had not yet arrived.
Only after the deal is implemented, Eliasson said, will the U.N. be able to think about restarting peace talks. He emphasized that, though he was hopeful about the deal’s prospects, it was not yet a breakthrough, and he needed to see progress within a week to believe in the deal’s robustness.
Russia steps in
Russia’s intervention in the Syrian conflict last fall has bolstered Assad’s position and allowed him to launch a major offensive on the rebel-held city of Aleppo.
Saudi Foreign Minister Jubeir made clear that his country’s troops would not go it alone.
“I can tell you that there is some serious discussion going on with regards to looking at a ground component in Syria, because there has to be a possibility of taking and holding ground, that one cannot do from the air.”
“We are saying we will participate within the U.S.-led coalition, should this coalition decide to send ground troops into Syria, that we are prepared to send special forces with those troops.”
When asked whether America was doing enough to help bring an end to the bloodshed in Syria, Jubeir said they are “playing a role” in the political process, in supporting the opposition, and helping Syria’s neighbors.
Whether that is enough, he said “is for the Americans to decide.”
“From my perspective no country, including Saudi Arabia, can play a big enough role.””
source: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/13/middleeast/saudi-arabia-assad-force/
