State Department: Political transition is the solution in Syria

The United States State Department said the solution in Syria should come from discussions that lead to a political transition involving all Syrians, Spokesman John Kirby said Monday. 

Responding to a question about Assad’s recent comments to French journalists that he is ready to discuss everything, Kirby said “it’d be difficult to take any stated commitment to him about elections very seriously. What needs to happen is what we’ve said all along needs to happen, and that’s a UN-led process whereby the opposition and the regime begin to have a discussion about what a political transition can look like in Syria, a transition that incorporates the voice of the Syrian people – all of them.”

Kirby added that “what Bashar al-Assad really needs to do is stop bombing his own people, allow for humanitarian assistance to get in, and prove that he’s committed to participating in UN-led political talks in Geneva to end the war.”

On Sunday, Assad admitted his regime committed atrocities against Syrians in an interview with French media. When asked about the brutal bombardment that destroyed eastern Aleppo and killed a considerable number of civilians, Assad said it was “the price sometimes”.