French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called on Saturday for urgent action to bring about a power transfer in Syria that excludes President Bashar al-Assad.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called on Saturday for urgent action to bring about a power transfer in Syria that excludes President Bashar al-Assad.

"Given the enormous price paid already by the Syrian people... it is more urgent than ever to act to overcome differences in favor of a political transition," Le Drian told a security forum in the United Arab Emirates.
He said the change should be "a transition in which president Assad would no longer keep his place".

Le Drian’s remarks came after the so-called Syrian National Council (SNC) SAI ON Friday that it was “ready to negotiate Assad’s exit with any member of his government.”

Syrian officials repeatedly said they could not accept pre-conditions about President Assad’s departure and have privately dismissed the offer, saying it was no more than media initiatives.