Turkish officials describe calls for excluding Assad as 'unrealistic'

In a major change in the Turkish position towards President Bashar Al Assad, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek described the calls for excluding the Syrian regime as not realistic.
He added, during his word before a panel on Syria at the World Economic Forum in Davos,
“We have to be pragmatic, realistic. The facts on the ground have changed dramatically.” He stressed that Turkey can no longer insist on a settlement without Assad. It is not realistic.
Simsek’s comments come as Turkey, a vocal critic of the regime in Damascus, sponsors talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana on Monday, together with key Assad allies Russia and Iran to shore up a cease-fire in the war battered country.
Turkey has backed Syrian opposition rebels fighting against Assad since the complex conflict began with anti-government demonstrations in March 2011, even saying previously that his days were numbered.
Simsek appeared to reflect a policy shift away from Turkey’s long-held position of being against Assad having any role when the conflict ends, though he still blamed him for the war’s carnage.
“As far as our position on Assad is concerned, we think that the suffering of Syrian people and tragedies clearly... the blame is squarely on Assad,” Simsek said.
At Davos, Simsek said there had to be “a beginning in Astana” to make sure the conflict stops.
“For now at least the fighting has stopped, it is very, very critical because that is the beginning of anything else,” he added.
“The process is to make sure that we translate the current lull into a more lasting cease-fire initially, and then of course talk about more mundane stuff, settling the conflict.”