21 October 2015•Update: 21 October 2015
ANKARA
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated Wednesday his call for a transition process in Syria and the removal of President Bashar al-Assad from power.
"What is important is the implementation of a transition period in which Syrian people have the belief that peace has arrived in this country [Syria]," Davutoglu told reporters in the capital Ankara.
According to certain local media reports, the U.S. offered a political transition plan for Syria, in which President Bashar al-Assad stays in power symbolically. One Turkish paper reported that two anonymous officials had said Ankara accepted the plan, only if it lasted for six months. The plan is reportedly supported by the U.K. France, Qatar, Germany, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Moscow has been silent.
Davutoglu said it was impossible to mention a transition period "in real sense as long as more than 5 million refugees across the world do not intend to return to their homeland."
"There should be a transition that will enable Assad’s departure, not a period with Assad [in power]," the prime minister said.
Asked about Assad's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Davutoglu said the visit clearly confirmed Russian support for the regime with its involvement in the war-torn country.
"I wish he [Assad] had stayed in Moscow longer so the Syrian people could find a bit more comfort,” said Davutoglu. “I even wish he stayed permanently so the transition process could begin," he added.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin and Assad had discussed Russian airstrikes in Syria, the regime's operations and their counterterrorism cooperation on Tuesday.
Russia began carrying out airstrikes in Syria last month. The strikes are aimed at supporting the Assad regime -- a Russian ally -- against Daesh, according to the Kremlin.
But Turkey and the West accuse Russia of targeting moderate Syrian groups opposed to Assad, many of which are supported by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the U.S. and Europe.
At least 250,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, with 7.6 million internally displaced and more than 4 million having fled to nearby countries.
