Saudi FM says Assad should leave at beginning of political transitionMarch 5, 2016 - 18:03 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Saturday, March 5 that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must leave at the beginning of a political transition, not at the end, Reuters said. "For us it is very clear it's at the beginning of the process, not at the end of the process, it's not going to be 18 months," Jubeir said during a visit to France. His comments came days before the United Nations plans to reconvene peace talks to try to end the five-year-old civil war in Syria. The United States and other Western governments that were previously calling for Assad's early departure have quietly backed away from that demand as his position has been strengthened by Russia's military involvement in Syria since last September. Jubeir also said Saudi Arabia will take delivery of French arms it originally ordered for Lebanon. In February, Saudi Arabia suspended a $3 billion aid package for the Lebanese army in response to Beirut's failure to condemn attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, Reuters reported. "We made the decision that we will stop the $3 billion from going to the Lebanese military and instead they will be rediverted to the Saudi military," Jubeir told journalists during a visit in Paris. "So the contracts (with France) will be completed but the clients will be the Saudi military." Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |