Washington: Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir said on Friday the kingdom would welcome effective Russian participation in the fight with Daesh in Syria but not at the expense of keeping the Syrian president in power or further attacks on moderate rebels.
Jubeir, speaking at a news conference in Washington, said Saudi Arabia was following US Secretary of State John Kerry’s talks with his Russian counterpart. Kerry was talking to the Russians about closer military and intelligence cooperation against Daesh and Al Qaida in Syria.
“Anything that can be done to bring the Russians into the fight against Daesh in an effective way is something that I think people would welcome,” Jubeir told reporters. “But it cannot be at the cost of keeping Bashar Al Assad in power and it cannot be with the Russians continuing to attack the moderate Syrian opposition.”
