Rebel forces pressing a lightning offensive in Syria aim to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's rule, their Islamist leader said in an interview published on Friday.
"When we talk about objectives, the goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime. It is our right to use all available means to achieve that goal," Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) told CNN in an interview.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday said he wanted an Islamist-led rebel advance in Syria to "continue without incident", believing that their objective is the capital Damascus.
Erdoğan also said he had never received a response from Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to hold reconciliation talks.
"So far Idleb, Hama and Homs and of course the objective, Damascus: the advance of the opponents continues. We wish this advance to continue without incident," said Erdogan.
Turkey said its Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would meet with his Russian and Iranian counterparts this weekend in Qatar to discuss the situation in Syria.
The commander of a Kurdish-led force in Syria said he was open to talks with Turkey and Islamist-led rebels, whose offensive had created a "new political and military reality".
"We want to de-escalate with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other parties and to solve our problems through dialogue" including with Turkey, Mazloum Abdi, who heads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that controls swathes of northeast Syria, told reporters. "We were surprised to see the sudden and rapid collapse of Syrian government forces on the frontlines as factions took control of large areas, imposing a new political and military reality," he added.
The Russian embassy in Damascus advised citizens "to leave the country on commercial flights through airports in operation", citing the "difficult military and political situation" in the country.
With AFP
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