NOVANEWS
Times of Israel
US President Barack Obama on Wednesday refused to describe the type of military support the US will give to Syrian rebels even as he praised a decision by world leaders at a just-completed summit to seek a negotiated peace. He dismissed claims that the US was set to launch military operations in Syria.
“Some of the stories that have been out there publicly have gotten a little overcranked in terms of the idea that somehow the United States is preparing to go all in and participate in another war. What we want to do is end a war,” Obama said.
Obama said that even though leaders could not agree on whether Syrian President Bashar Assad must go, he has decided it is not possible for Assad to regain legitimacy.
Obama spoke at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders of the Group of Eight industrial economies meeting in Northern Ireland this week tried to narrow sharp differences between Russia, a key Assad backer, and Western leaders.
According to a State Department spokesperson, the G8 resolved to reach an “agreement on a transitional governing body in Syria with full executive powers, formed by mutual consent” and called “on all parties to the conflict to allow access to the UN investigation team so that it can investigate reports of use of chemical weapons.”
The crux of disagreement between Russia and Western governments is the role of President Bashar Assad in Syria’s future. Russia insists Assad must not be driven from power, whereas the US and Europe demand he leave.
“There’s no role for Bashar Assad in Syria,” Spokeswoman Jen Psaki continued. “However, there is a future for those in the regime who are willing to accept the end of Assad’s reign and are willing to work for a better future for Syria.”
Obama’s national security adviser Ben Rhodes told the press Tuesday, however, that “we want the Russians to work with the regime to make sure that they come to the table in a serious fashion” to arrive at a negotiated solution to the two-year civil war.
“This is a negotiation about how do you transition to a new government so that Syria can move forward and there can the kind of change that allows for military measures and conflict to not be the way in which people are seeking a new government,” Rhodes said.
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