Libyan Leader Calls on Syria's Assad to Step Down

WARSAW, Poland -- The chairman of Libya's National Transitional Council has called on Syria's president to step down, saying the Syrian people have the right to determine their own destiny.

Mustafa Abdul-Jalil said Friday that Syrian President Bashar Assad should quit. He said Assad can always put himself up for election in a democratic vote to see if his people really want him.

He says "if the Syrian people are willing to choose Assad, then let it be."

Abdul-Jalil spoke at a development conference in Warsaw, Poland.

The Libyan leader also called on countries with frozen Libyan assets to release them so the country can rebuild after its recent war. He says some of the money would go to job training for former fighters, many of them recovering from war injuries.