Turkish premier: No solution to Syria while Assad remains

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has warned there can be no solution to the Syrian conflict or the threat from radicals while President Bashar Assad remains in charge.
In recent days, Yildirim has repeatedly said Turkey would seek good relations with Syria after diplomatic successes with Israel and Russia, raising speculation of a possible change in Turkish policy.
However in an interview with the BBC broadcast late on Wednesday, Yildirim said Assad had to go because with him in charge, the conflict would not be solved.
“On one hand, there’s Assad and on the other, Daesh. If you ask, should we prefer Assad or Daesh, we cannot choose one over the other. They both have to go — they’re both trouble for Syrians,” he said.
“Let’s imagine we got rid of Daesh, the problem still won’t be solved. As long as Assad is there, the problem won’t be solved. Another terrorist organization would emerge.”
He accused the Assad regime of creating Daesh through its policy of killing its own citizens deliberately.
Meanwhile, Assad said in an interview released Thursday that his Russian ally has “never” discussed a political transition with him, despite international support for such a process.
Speaking to NBC News in Damascus, the embattled leader insisted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had never raised the issue of his departure or a political transition with him.
“Only the Syrian people define who’s going to be the president, when to come, and when to go. They never said a single word regarding this,” he said.

Source: Arab News