Erdoğan calls Assad a terrorist, says no place for regime in future of Syria

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday reiterated that there is no place for Bashar al-Assad in the future of Syria.

"It is absolutely impossible to move ahead with Assad in Syria. For what? How could we embrace the future with the president of a Syria who killed close to 1 million of its citizens?" said Erdoğan.

His remarks came at a joint news conference in the Tunisian capital Tunis following a closed-door meeting with his Tunisian counterpart Beji Caid Essebsi.

"Would the people of Syria want to see such a person as leader? Because I am saying this absolutely clearly and openly that Assad is actually a terrorist involved in state terrorism," Erdoğan added.

Erdoğan asserted that peace will not come to Syria with Bashar al-Assad as its president.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN officials.

"EAST JERUSALEM IS CAPITAL FOR US"
Erdoğan also spoke about the the U.S. administration's recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate Washington's embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city.

"East Quds [Jerusalem] is the capital for us. We are backing this up and the Islamic world is also supporting it," the Turkish president said.

He also asserted determination in efforts to make the entire world recognize the state of Palestine.

The UN's 193-member General Assembly recently adopted a resolution on Jerusalem by an overwhelming majority, calling on the U.S. to withdraw its recognition of the city as Israel's capital.

A total of 128 members voted in favor of the resolution, while nine countries voted against it and 35 others abstained. Twenty-one countries did not cast a vote.

The Turkish president also reaffirmed his country's support to the Tunisia's fight against terrorism.

"Thanks to this information sharing, we have either sent thousands of terrorists to their countries or have placed them behind bars," he said.
TURKEY TO STRENGTHEN TRADE TIES WITH TUNISIA
Erdoğan also vowed to improve trade ties with Tunisia during his official visit to the North African nation.

"Boosting a balanced trade volume will continue to be one of the priorities for our bilateral economic agenda," Erdoğan said.

During the meeting four agreements over cooperation in the fields of military, finance and environment were signed.

The two leaders spoke on regional issues ranging from the situation and Libya to terrorism, Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan thanked the government and people of Tunisia for their support to Turkey following the defeated coup attempt last year.

He said he will encourage Turkish businesspeople to invest in Tunisia.

Essebsi said that Erdoğan's visit will play an important role in deepening ties between the two countries.

He said he had been invited for an official visit to Turkey.

Erdoğan accompanied by a delegation of government officials arrived in Tunisia early Wednesday for a one-day visit.

Tunisia is the last stop on a three-nation African tour by Erdoğan, preceded by visits to Sudan and Chad.

Later on Wednesday, Erdoğan will hold a one-on-one meeting with Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed. He is also expected to meet businesspeople from Tunisia and Turkey at a business forum.