Syrian leader of the opposition, Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib, has urged President Assad to join talks for an exit strategy and power handover, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Speaking after meeting Syrian regime allies, Russia and Iran, Khatib said he wanted to meet the president's deputy in order to begin talks for his departure:
“I ask the regime to send Farouq al-Sharaa – if it accepts the idea – and we can sit with him,” he said.
The opposition politician has previously said that he would engage in diaologue with representatives of the Syrian government but has not metioned an Assad exit strategy before.
The Syrian 22-month conflict has killed an estimated 60,000 people so far, many of whom were civilians.
