Saudi Arabian military jets could arrive in Turkey in the next few days to carry out missions against the Islamic State (IS) militants group, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday.
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Saudi Arabia’s decision to send troops to Syria is “final” and “irreversible”, Saudi military spokesman Ahmed Al-Assiri told reporters Thursday evening as he confirmed earlier comments about sending troops to the country.
But he said there was no need for mediation in Saudi Arabia’s rift with Iran, citing what he described as Iran’s long pattern of interference in regional conflicts. “Saudi Arabia is sending planes and says, “I can send soldiers for a ground operation when it is necessary”.
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Speaking after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry al-Jubeir said any operation would be U.S.-led but that Saudi Arabia would play a leading role.
“We have been cooperating with Saudi Arabia in many fields especially in defense as we have very close relations with Qatar. The Syrian people will not accept him being in power”.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who spoke in Munich before Zarif, made no references to Iran and underscored the differences over Assad’s future, telling European Union ministers and diplomats that the Syrian leader would be removed.
Asked if Saudi troops could enter Syria from Turkey, Cavusoglu said: “This is a wish, not a planned thing”. Turkey and Saudi back rebels who are seeking to oust Assad and both fear the West is losing its appetite to topple Assad on the assumption he is “the lesser of two evils” compared to the IS jihadists.
He said that Assad’s previous calls for help to his own military, Iran, Hezbollah and Shiite militia forces from Iraq and Pakistan were all in vain.
“Unless and until there is a change in Syria, Daesh will not be defeated in Syria, period”, he added, using the Arab name for Islamic State.
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World powers on Friday announced an ambitious plan to stop fighting in Syria within a week, but doubts have emerged over its viability, especially because it did not include IS or al Qaeda’s local branch.
