Russia and Iran must agree to a date and means for Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad to quit the country, and agree to withdraw all foreign forces from Syria, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said in an interview yesterday.

Arch regional competitors Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose rivalry has been aggravated by their support for opposing sides in Syria, both took part in talks to find a peaceful solution for the country for the first time in Vienna on Friday. Jubeir said the Vienna talks, which will resume within two weeks, would show how serious Assad and his backers Iran and Russia were in seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis.

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