"The United States has deep disagreements with Russia, notably over its March 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine as well as its military support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine."
The United States is willing to work with Iran and Russia to try to end
the Syrian conflict, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday but insisted
there could not be a return to the status quo under Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad.
Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, Obama described
Assad as a tyrant and as the chief culprit behind the four-year civil war in
which at least 200,000 people have died and millions have been driven from
their homes internally or abroad as refugees.
However, he did not explicitly call for Assad's ouster and he suggested
there could be a "managed transition" away from his rule, the latest
sign that despite U.S. animus toward the Syrian leader it is willing to see him
stay for some period of time.
"The United States is prepared to work with any nation, including
Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict," Obama said at the annual
gathering of world leaders. "But we must recognize that there cannot be,
after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the pre-war status
quo."
In voicing a willingness to deal with Iran and Russia, both staunch
backers of Assad, Obama was openly acknowledging their influence in Syria and
swallowing a somewhat bitter pill for the United States.
Tehran has armed the Syrian government and, through its backing of
Lebanese Hezbollah fighter, has helped Assad fight rebels seeking to end his
family's four-decade rule. Russia has recently engaged in a military build-up
in Syria, where it has a naval base that serves as its foothold in the Middle
East.
Obama is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin later on
Monday on the sidelines of the gathering, for talks that could provide some
hint on how it might be possible to end a conflict that has defied years of
diplomatic efforts.
U.S. CANNOT STAND BY - OBAMA
The United States has deep disagreements
with Russia, notably over its March 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine as
well as its military support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The United States and European Union have imposed economic sanctions on Russia
in response.
"We cannot stand by when the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of a nation is flagrantly violated,"
Obama said. "That’s the basis of the sanctions that the United States and
our partners impose on Russia, it’s not a desire to return to a cold war."
U.S. officials say they believe Putin's
build-up of Russian forces, including tanks and warplanes, in Syria mainly
reflects Moscow's fear that Assad's grip might be weakening and a desire to
shore him up to retain Russian influence in the region.
They also see it as a way for Putin to try
to project Russian influence more widely, a goal he appeared to achieve on
Sunday with Iraq's announcement that Russia, Iran, Syria and the Iraqi
government were sharing intelligence on Syria.
Putin has cast the Russian build-up as
part of a general fight against "terrorism," notably against the
Islamic State militant group that has seized swathes of territory in Iraq and
Syria.
The United States began a bombing campaign
against Islamic State last year but has resisted any commitment of ground
troops in Syria.
"There is no room for accommodating
an apocalyptic cult like ISIL and the United States makes no apology for using
our military as part of a broad coalition to go after it," he said,
referring to the militant group.
"Realism dictates that compromise will
be required to end the fighting and ultimately stamp out ISIL," Obama
said. "But realism also requires a managed transition away from Assad and
to a new leader and an inclusive government that recognizes there must be an
end to this chaos."
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey,
which has been drawn into the conflict, also told reporters Assad was the main
person responsible for the crisis. "A transitional process is needed in
Syria without Assad and those groups involved in crimes," he said.
(Writing
By Arshad Mohammed; reporting by Jeff Mason, Michelle Nichols and Reuters U.N.
General Assembly team; Editing by David Storey)
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