London-Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al- Jubeir said on Monday that the international community is suffering from a defect that is standing in the way of a unified solution to the Syrian crisis.
Jubeir believes that hopes of the Syrian people to live in a new country without Bashar Assad will be realized soon.
Also, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond reiterated his country’s stance urging Assad to step down.
In a press conference in Riyadh with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, Jubeir highlighted the international consensus on the political solution in Syria being based on “Geneva 1,” in addition to the continuous military support to the Syrian Opposition.
For her part, Mogherini expressed hope that the political talks would lead to a solution in Syria, affirming that the political process is the sole solution to end the suffering of the Syrian people and urging the resumption of Geneva talks.
“We are working on making the political transition in Syria applicable,” Mogherini said, calling on all parties to abide by the cessation of hostilities and ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance to all parts of Syria.
On his visit to Kuwait, Hammond said that Assad will never be part of the solution to the ongoing Syrian crisis and that the only solution he can offer is to “resign from his post.”
Assad is obstructing the political solution on his country. The Syrian opposition along with regional and international parties insist on his departure, while the regime is offering the opposition to partake in a unity government headed by Assad.
The U.K. minister also hailed the efforts spent by the U.S-led coalition countering ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
Hammond said that the Coalition’s Strategic Communication Working Group has been “successful in doing two things: firstly, challenging Daesh (ISIS) in its way of using the media itself. Secondly, countering its narrative with its own media messages.”
The U.K. Minister said that “one of Daesh’s defining features in its early phases is it’ incredibly skilled use of social media and modern communications channels.”
The group’s efforts were effective because ISIS has lost its media dominance and it has lost fighters and ground control, Hammond added.
Hammond is on a tour to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman to discuss a wide range of regional and international issues, including the vital role that the Gulf countries have in countering ISIS. The situations in Syria, Iraq, and Libya will also be on his agenda.