End of Assad regime nigh, says Hague

BAGHDAD - Agence France-Presse

Hague (L) speaks with his Iraqi counterpart Zebari in Baghdad. EPA Photo

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said yesterday during his first visit to the Iraqi capital that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is “doomed” and should not survive.

“We believe that the al-Assad regime is doomed, that it is not possible for it to survive, and so many crimes (have been) committed that it should not survive,” Hague said at a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari. Hague said they had discussed “the need for a transition to a more democratic and stable Syria. That is the only way to avoid protracted civil war, or the collapse of the Syrian state, or an even greater flow of refugees and loss of life.”

Hague also accused Iran of providing “active assistance” to al-Assad in his crackdown and has escalated into a bloody civil war between opponents and supporters of his regime. Zebari, said that “we agreed on a political, democratic transition and achieving a pluralistic, democratic regime that represents all segments of the Syrian people... and that the Syrian people decide their destiny for themselves, without foreign interference.”