Austria says fight against ISIL needs Syria’s Assad |Austria |ISIL |Syria
09.09.2015 - 17:49
Could yesterday’s enemy become today’s ally? There are growing calls among Western leaders to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to solve the civil war causing thousands to flee to Europe.
Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday (Sept. 8) that the West should involve Assad and his allies Iran and Russia to fight rebel ISIL militants seeking to advance across Syria and to establish an Islamic “caliphate” in the Middle East.
Austrian President Heinz Fischer even met with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani in Tehran — making him the first EU leader to visit Iran in more than a decade. The pair gave a joint news conference.
