This is with reference to the report “Syria could be ‘weeks away’ from transition” (Nov. 18). Any transition, which does not envisage removal of Assad and his cronies from the helm, is not likely to yield the desired results.

Assad’s removal should be a precondition of any transition in the war-ravaged and terror-infested country. During the past few years, Syria has been transformed into a playing field of foreign powers and intelligence agencies. It is not that the foreign powers want to take control of the country but wish to use the unrest in the country and its possible spillover into the region as a trump card.

It is really sad that the world powers currently active in Syria are carrying out these activities at the expense of the Syrian people, most of whom have already fled their country and seeking refuge in Europe and other countries in the region.

I think that the Syrian crisis will continue in the foreseeable future because of Iran, which is trying to protect Assad. Immediate resolution of the Syrian crisis is not only important for the region but also for the entire world. The recent attacks in Paris indicate the growth of Daesh, which is exploiting the political unrest in Syria. In the garb of fighting terrorism, Assad and his supporters are eliminating the moderate Syrian forces opposed to his tyranny. The international community should force Iran to refrain from meddling in the Arab world and set this as a condition for lifting of economic sanctions. Without doing so, any solution to the Syrian problem is not likely. Or perhaps, the world powers don’t want the resolution of this problem for some “strategic” reasons.

T. H. Khanzada

Riyadh