Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad does not make efforts to establish a truce in the republic, it is necessary to begin searching for alternatives.

“We believe that we should have moved to Plan B a long time ago,” the minister was quoted as saying by Reuters . Al-Jubeir's statement was made in Vienna, where negotiations on the Syrian settlement are taking place today.

“The choice regarding the transition to an alternative plan, the choice regarding increasing military support [for the opposition], depends entirely on the Bashar regime. If they do not respond to the agreement of the international community, we will need to understand what else can be done,” the minister said.

The preparation of a “Plan B” for Syria was first reported in February by The Wall Street Journal. The publication noted that the leaders of the Pentagon and the CIA doubted that Russia would comply with the terms of the truce, and sought from the Barack Obama administration to develop an alternative strategy.

The newspaper later reported details of the plan . In particular, it implies strengthening the moderate opposition with more serious weapons, including anti-aircraft guns, if the truce is disrupted.

Reports about “Plan B” were previously commented on by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov. He stated that “the Russian side has one plan”: “To contribute in every possible way to the peaceful resolution of the Syrian problem and to consistently conduct business in line with the fight against terrorism and to assist the Syrian legitimate authorities in this.”

Since February 27, a truce has been in effect in Syria, but it does not apply to the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra organizations banned in Russia.

Saudi Arabia announced the need to move to “Plan B” for Syria