Syria’s opposition says the latest comments from Washington softening its line against President Bashar Assad were encouraging him to commit more crimes, after a deadly suspected chemical attack blamed on the regime.
“Until now, this (US) administration has done nothing and adopted an attitude of a spectator, making statements that give the regime an opportunity to commit more crimes,” the deputy head of the Syrian National Coalition Abdelhakim Bashar tells reporters in Istanbul.
The previous administration of former US president Barack Obama had always pushed for the ouster of Assad, supporting the rebels fighting against his forces.
But in an apparent U-turn, the US ambassador to the United Nations and other top officials in the new administration of President Donald Trump have said ousting Assad is no longer a priority.
The US administration has been under fire for concentrating its efforts on the defeat of the jihadist Islamic State group and not on ending Assad’s civil war against his domestic opposition.
— AFP
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