Turkish official: Assad's future up to Syrians to negotiate
A top Turkish ruling party official says Ankara supports a political solution for Syria but retains its "red lines" on the subject of Syrian President Bashar Assad remaining president.
Mahir Unal, the spokesman of the Justice and Development Party, says Turkey made clear its reservations about Assad having any future role in Syria "after all these deaths" during a trilateral meeting with Russia and Iran that took place in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Wednesday.
Unal also said Turkey emphasized at the Sochi meeting that there must be negotiations between Assad and the opposition, which Ankara has supported from the start of the Syrian civil war.
Turkey also wants Syria to remain united and not break up, and opposes Syrian Kurdish fighters participating in negotiations on Syria's future.
