US: Syria faces more war if Assad stays

US Secretary of State John Kerry has reacted to the news that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may run for re-election next year.

Kerry said Monday, after meeting separately with Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah and with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, that there can be no peaceful solution to the conflict in Syria as long as Assad remains in power.

“Now I don’t know anyone who believes the opposition will ever consent to Bashar al-Assad being part of that [transitional] government,” Kerry said. “And if he [Bashar al-Assad] thinks he’s going to solve problems by running for re-election I can say to him, I think with certainty, this war will not end as long as that’s the case or he [Assad] is there.”

Earlier in the month, a Washington Post report said that the CIA is expanding a covert effort to train militants who have been fighting the Syrian government forces for the past two and a half years.

American officials are concerned that the militants are rapidly losing ground in the Syria’s unrest, the report said, citing US officials. The CIA has trained about 1,000 militants this year.

Kerry traveled to London on Tuesday for a meeting with other supporters of foreign-backed Syrian opposition groups before the forthcoming talks in Geneva on the ongoing crisis in Syria.

Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil earlier said that the talks could take place November 23-24, according to AFP.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. Reports indicate that the Western powers and their regional allies – especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey – are supporting the militants operating inside the country.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the violence.

ARA/ARA