Not satisfied’ till Assad gone: US pushes for regime change as war in Syria winds

The US will not be satisfied as long as Syrian President Bashar Assad is in power, US Ambassador to the UN said, commenting on a major de-escalation effort brokered by Russia, Iran and Turkey without American participation.Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed Friday on the fourth, final, de-escalation zone in Syria, which is designed to ensure ceasefire between Syrian government forces and rebels for a period of six months in order to pave the way for a political resolution to the six-year war. The deal, which is also aimed at separating terrorist groups, including Islamic State terrorists (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL or Daesh) and Jabhat al-Nusra (Al-Nusra Front) from so-called moderate opposition, was agreed with the approval of the Syrian government, as well as members of Syrian opposition who participated in the talks.This came ten days after the Syrian army with Russia’s help liberated one of Islamic State’s last strongholds in Syria, the city of Deir ez-Zor, which had been under the terrorists’ siege for three years. The lifting of the siege finally allowed humanitarian aid to reach the city.“We’re not going to be satisfied until we see a strong and stable Syria. And that is not with Assad in place,” US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said at a White House briefing on Friday, when asked whether the US was left behind in international efforts to resolve Syrian crisis.American officials have said their main goal in Syria is to fight ISIS, as Washington backs the operations of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which includes Kurdish fighters as well as Arab militia groups.

 

Source: Not satisfied’ till Assad gone: US pushes for regime change as war in Syria winds –