Germany: Assad must not be part of transitional period

“It is impossible for the head of the Syrian regime Bashar Al-Assad to have a role with full power in a transitional period as he committed war crimes in Syria,” the Anadolu Agency reported the German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer saying.

In a press conference held in Berlin, Schaefer said: “As far as I can see, there are many players and powers in the region, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, other Gulf states, for which it is unthinkable – and we can’t imagine this either – that Assad could be part of a transitional government with full powers.”

Schaefer said Assad was responsible for “crimes and barbaric conduct of the war” in Syria over the last four-and-a-half years. He added: “We don’t know who succeeds Assad”.