MESOP NEWS FOCUS “THOUGH POSITION”: Saudi Arabia Reaffirms “Assad Must Go”

By Scott Lucas – eaworldview – 7 August 2017 – Saudi Arabia has repeated its line that Syria’s ruler Bashar al-Assad can have no role in a political transition resolving the 77-month conflict.Russian State media, including RT, have been proclaiming that Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (pictured) informed the opposition of a shift in Riyadh’s position.

Russian outlets have been asserting that opposition groups and rebel factions, some supported by Saudi Arabia since the start of the uprising in 2011, are accepting Moscow’s proposals of “de-escalation zones” and a transition in which Assad is not required to step down.

However, the primary opposition group speaking to the Russians, in discussions in Cairo, is a relatively small faction under Ahmad Jarba, a former President of the SNC. Rebels such as the Jaish al-Islam group have not confirmed Russia’s declarations that they have accepted the de-escalation zones, pushed by Moscow since early May.A Saudi Foreign Ministry statement on Sunday said that the statement attributed to Jubeir is “inaccurate”: “The position of the kingdom on the Syrian crisis is firm, and it is based on the Geneva 1 communique and on U.N. Security Council resolution 2254 that stipulated the formation of a transitional body that will run the country.”

Saudi Arabia supports the HNC and its efforts to widen membership and unify the Syrian opposition, the statement said. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura is hoping to re-convene the Assad regime and opposition in indirect political talks in Geneva in September. www.mesop.de