Tillerson: Syrian People to Decide Al-Assad’s Fate

Local Editor

At a news conference in the Turkish capital, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared to suggest the end of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's presidency was no longer a prerequisite for a way out of the Syrian crisis, in a U-turn from Washington's long-held policy.

"I think the ... longer term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people," said Tillerson at a joint conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevut Cavusoglu on Thursday, AFP reported.

However, under former President Barack Obama, the US made al-Assad's departure one of its key objectives. The Syrian armed opposition also insisted upon the longtime leader's resignation as one of the conditions during the Astana talks.

Tillerson added that there were no major disagreements between Turkey and the US over the NATO allies campaigns against Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri ‘ISIS/ISIL' group.

"There's no space between Turkey and the US and our commitment to defeat Daesh," he said.

However, his statement was met with disagreement from Cavusoglu, who complained about US support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara considers a terrorist group.

"It is not good or realistic to work with a terrorist group while fighting another terrorist group," Cavusoglu said, adding that Turkey expected "better cooperation" with the US over this issue.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team