Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.S. will have to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to end the country’s four-year civil war.
US Secretary of State John Kerry
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry tells CBS news there’s only one way to end Syria’s brutal civil war: negotiations with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
“Well, we have to negotiate in the end.”, he said.
Since the civil war broke out four years ago, the U-S has called for Assad to step down — but that was before the rise of Islamic State.
The brutal militant group rose from the forces opposing Assad’s rule — and appears to have softened Washington’s position to him.
“We are working very hard with other interested parties to see if we can re-ignite a diplomatic outcome. Why? Because everybody agrees there is no military solution — there is only a political solution.”, Kerry said.
Assad now enjoys the solid support of Russia and Iran — and seems to have growing confidence in his ability to survive.
“To get the Assad regime to negotiate, we’re going to have to make it clear to him that there is a determination by everybody to seek that political outcome and change his calculation about negotiating. [wf] That’s under way right now. And I am convinced that, with the efforts of our allies and others, there will be increased pressure on Assad.”.
The Syrian civil war grew out of the Arab Spring in 2011 and has killed 200,000 people and caused massive instability in the region.
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