Saudi foreign minister blames Assad for the rise of Islamic State

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said earlier this week that the terrorist organisation Islamic State gained power because Syrian President Bashar al-Assad targeted his own citizens with deadly force during Syria's civil war.

Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters after a meeting with his Russian counterpart in Moscow that he does "not see a place for Assad in Syria's future," according to Russian state news agency TASS. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov disagreed and warned that if Assad were deposed by military means, "the only outcome would be the seizure of power by Islamic State and other terrorists."

The Syrian government, led by Assad for 15 years, is Russia's closest ally in the Middle East.

Moscow invited the Syrian minister to discuss ways to counter the menacing Islamic State, which has gained considerable territory in war-torn Syria and Iraq over the past year. Lavrov said Russia believes that all forces fighting Islamic State – including the Syrian and Iraqi militaries and the Kurdish militia – should unify their efforts.

He emphasised that Assad's future is the only difference between Russia and Saudi Arabia in seeking a resolution to the fighting.

Syria's bloody civil war has dragged on for four years, killing at least 250,000 people.

Critics have accused Assad's government of brutally cracking down on opposition forces, including using chemical weapons against militants and, in at least one instance, civilians.    (dpa)

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