Assad 'will be removed by force' if peace talks fail, Saudi Foreign Minister claims

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said if the Syrian peace process fails, 'then it becomes clear that there is no option to remove Bashar al-Assad except by force' JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will be removed by force if the peace process fails, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister has said.

"Bashar al-Assad will leave - have no doubt about it," Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN. "He will either leave by a political process or he will be removed by force."
Saudi Arabia has sent troops and fighter jets to a Turkish military base ahead of a possible ground invasion of Syria.
Mr Jubeir said Saudi Arabia is prepared to contribute ground troops to the fight in Syria, but only as part of a US-led coalition.

There were reports of Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 jets arriving at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey on Saturday morning

He added: "We will push as much as we can to ensure that the political process works. But if that doesn't work, it will be because of the obstinance of the Syrian regime and that of its allies.
"And should that prove to be the case, then it becomes clear that there is no option to remove Bashar al-Assad except by force."

Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin

On Sunday, he told a press conference in Riyadh that previous efforts to prop up Assad by Iran had failed.
"Now, [President Assad] has sought the help of Russia, which will fail to save him," he added.