The Obama administration stressed Wednesday that it hasn’t changed its position that Syrian President Bashar Assad must go, after some interpreted Secretary of State John Kerry’s Tuesday remarks in Russia to mean that position might be shifting.
On Tuesday, Kerry said that the U.S. and its partners “are not seeking so-called regime change as it is known in Syria.” While Kerry also said the U.S. continues to believe that Assad needs to leave, some took his “regime change” comment to mean Assad might be able to stay.
When asked about Kerry’s comment Wednesday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said “you should not anticipate a change in our policy” on Assad.
Over at the State Department, spokesman John Kirby agreed there’s been no change in policy.
“Nobody has given up on the notion that Assad has to go,” Kirby said. “We can quibble over words and rhetoric, but nothing’s changed about our view, our belief, that Assad cannot be the future of Syria.”
Kerry’s comments may have been an effort to explain the slow path to regime change the U.S. has chosen, which is a far cry from more aggressive types of regime change. The Obama administration helped negotiate an agreement in Vienna with Russia and other countries that calls for discussions to take place in Syria about a new political process that would result in the free election of a new leader.
For several weeks now, Kerry and other officials have touted this political commitment as one that can hopefully lead to elections 18 months from now. In Russia, Kerry seemed to acknowledge this slower track by saying it’s not “regime change as it is known in Syria.” He also reiterated the administration’s longstanding comment that Assad has no chance of remaining the leader of the country.
Kerry also seemed to acknowledge the Vienna process, but saying his talks in Russia did not focus on “what can or can’t be done immediately about Assad.”
The Vienna process anticipates the ability of Syrians to choose their new leader, something Kerry has acknowledged and something Earnest reiterated on Wednesday.
“It’s not a long-term solution for the international community to try and step in and essentially impose the kind of political changes that we think are best for Syria,” Earnest said, adding that new political leadership has to reflect the will of Syrians.
Earnest also said Kerry was “quite clear, later in this remarks, about the fact that a political transition inside of Syria is necessary, he was clear about the fact that Assad has lost legitimacy to lead that country and I think that is a clear indication to you that our policy that Assad must go has not changed.”
The parsing of Kerry’s words come as the one-time Democratic presidential nominee heads to New York to hold the next round of peace negotiations at the United Nations.
The Security Council will discuss the matter on Friday.
While in New York, Kerry will also “host a meeting of the International Syria Support Group … to discuss next steps in efforts to foster a nationwide ceasefire and parallel political transition negotiations to end the conflict, while intensifying the fight against” ISIS, the State Department stated on Wednesday.
