Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. Photo: wiki commons.

Speaking at an Islamic summit in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi called for the end to Bashar Assad’s presidency in Syria.

It’s “time for the Assad regime to leave,” the Egyptian leader said.  Morsi is in Saudi Arabia for a conference of the Organizations of Islamic Cooperation, where the topic of Syria has been high on the agenda.

Foreign ministers of the 57-nation bloc called for the suspension of Syria from the OIC on Tuesday, however Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters at the conference that his country would oppose the suspension.  Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that the OIC would move to suspend Syria regardless of Iranian objections.

Morsi called for cooperation between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran to help resolve the ongoing conflict in Syria, and said that during the holy month of Ramadan, he was “surprised” that certain groups were not responding appropriately to the bloodshed there.

“I am surprised by those who neglect the Syrian crisis and abandon the blood spilled there, even during the blessed month of Ramadan.”