Turkey’s leader says Syria’s Assad is a terrorist, must go

BEIRUT — Turkey’s leader denounced President Bashar Assad of Syria on Wednesday as a terrorist mass murderer with no place in that country’s postwar future, scrapping a softened approach that Turkish officials had taken toward Assad in recent years.

The statement by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey came as Assad seemed more confident than ever that he has won the war and will remain Syria’s leader for the foreseeable future. It also came against the backdrop of maneuvering by many powers — most notably Russia and Iran, Assad’s most important allies — to influence the outcome of a devastating conflict that has reshaped Middle East politics.

One of the first leaders in the region to condemn Assad when the conflict began in 2011, Erdogan in recent months had signaled a willingness to accept Assad’s political longevity.

The Turkish leader’s shift Wednesday was a reminder of their hostility, coming as Assad has demonstrated greater swagger over his grip from military gains over the past year, largely with Russia’s help.

In a new sign of his confidence, Assad even allowed a modest medical evacuation of civilians Wednesday from one of the last rebel enclaves in the country, near Damascus.

Russia, along with Iran, has been collaborating with Turkey, which supports some Syrian rebel groups, to lead diplomacy aimed at ending the Syrian war, now nearly 7 years old.

All three also have been jockeying for position in the country’s post-conflict future, even as their efforts to end the fighting have proved only partly successful.

Erdogan appeared to be reminding Russia that it cannot dictate Syria’s future alone, especially on issues sensitive to Turkey, notably those involving Syria’s Kurdish groups, which Turkey sees as enemies.