In an interview with Reuters, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that while Syrian President Bashar Assad remains at the head of the country, the Syrian conflict can not be resolved.

Erdogan: "Assad is not a solution for a potential settlement in Syria". Syria should be freed from Assad, so that a solution of ". He explained that "as long as Assad remains in power, no solution can be created".

Erdogan also noted that now "(President Vladimir Putin) Putin, (US President Donald) Trump, we, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar played an active role in trying to create a solution in Syria". He expressed the opinion that "we can unite and help the people of Syria make their own decision".

Erdogan added:

"Assad killed hundreds of thousands of people and in my country there are 3 million refugees, 1.5 million refugees are now in Lebanon, and now there are about 1 million refugees in Jordan, and these people have fled from their native countries". According to him, Assad is the main reason for this and in this regard, the Syrian people should be allowed to choose their leader. Erdogan is convinced that there are a large number of alternatives to Assad, the agency notes..