Obama Urges His Team to Continue Multilateral Talks to Seek Diplomatic Resolution to Crisis in Syria

WASHINGTON, (ST)-  US President Barack Obama has directed his national security team to continue multilateral talks to seek a diplomatic resolution to the crisis in Syria, according to Reuters.

Obama and his team met on Friday to discuss the situation in Syria. A readout of the meeting released by the White House noted that Obama urged his advisors to seek diplomatic solution in Syria. The summery made no mention to other US options in the country.

Reuters had reported that in the meeting Obama and his advisers would consider military and other options in Syria.

The meeting came after Washington has refused to implement its commitments towards the issue of separating what it called “moderate opposition” from terrorist organizations in Syria.

 Last September, Russia and the U.S. reached an agreement on Syria providing for the cessation of hostilities, joint fight against terrorism and humanitarian aid delivery, but the United States failed to implement its pledges to separate what it calls “moderate opposition” from “Jabhat al-Nusra” and launched a campaign against Russia and Syria that ended up with suspending the US cooperation with Russia.

The Swiss city of Lausanne is hosting a meeting on Syria. The Russian and American foreign ministers as well as the top diplomats of a number of countries in the region are taking part.

Earlier, Lavrov stressed that the basic condition for resuming talks on Syria was to implement the UN Security Council resolutions on solving the crisis in Syria. He pointed out that the course of action was clear represented in the cessation of hostilities, fighting terrorism, delivery of humanitarian aid and the immediate launching of a political process with the participation of all Syrian parties and without preconditions.

Hamda Mustafa