Saudis determined to see Assad taken down in Syria

Reuters:
Bashar al-Assad will not be ruling Syria in the future and Russia's military interventions will not help him stay in power, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told a German newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.

"There will be no Bashar al-Assad in the future," al-Jubeir told newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

"It might take three months, it might take six months or three years - but he will no longer carry responsibility for Syria. Period."

Saying that the Syrian people's determination to topple al-Assad was unbroken despite heavy Russian air strikes and persecution within the country, al-Jubeir criticized Russia's involvement in the five-year-long war.

He said that Assad's previous calls for help to his own military, Iran, Hezbollah and Shiite militia forces from Iraq and Pakistan were all in vain.

"Now he called the Russians, but they won't be able to help him either," al-Jubeir said.
...
At this point, it looks like the Russians are saving Assad.  However, the Saudis are making them pay a very high price in the oil markets where their pumping has driven down the price to a point where Russia may not be able to survive much longer.

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