US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad would have no place in any transitional government, as he had lost his legitimacy to lead after an “appalling assault” against his people.
Kerry was speaking to representatives from about 40 countries who were gathered at the Geneva II conference in Switzerland to discuss a solution to the three-year-old crisis in Syria. Kerry told the attendees that the conference is a test for the international community to end the fight in Syria.
He asserted that: “We see only one option, negotiating a transitional government born by mutual consent. That means that Bashar Al-Assad will not be part of that transitional government.”
Kerry added that: “There is no way, no way possible, that a man who has led a brutal response to his own people can regain legitimacy to govern.”