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Saudi Arabia Rules Out Cooperation with Russia in Syria

(Wall Street Journal) Jay Solomon, Carol E. Lee and Farnaz Fassihi - Saudi Arabia and other leading Arab states ruled out any cooperation with an emerging Russian military alliance operating inside Syria and vowed to dial up their support for rebels seeking to overthrow Moscow ally President Bashar al-Assad. Top officials from Arab states said it was impossible for them to support any coalition that doesn't seek to remove Assad, whose forces are accused of killing tens of thousands of civilians. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said Tuesday that Russian President Putin's offer to other Middle East countries to join his coalition was a "non-starter." While President Obama said he was prepared to cooperate with Russia and Iran in Syria, al-Jubeir said, "Iran is part of the problem and can't be part of the solution." U.S. officials Tuesday publicly proposed a plan that would enlist Russia and Iran in easing Assad out of power, while allowing him to remain for an agreed-on period. But it was unclear whether the U.S. and its allies have sufficient leverage to impose such a vision for the outcome of the conflict.
2015-09-30 00:00:00
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