Barbara Leaf, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said this evening, Wednesday, that Washington will not support normalization efforts with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or rehabilitate him, revealing the shock of US officials at receiving him in the UAE.
Leaf said - during a session of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Syria - that the US administration will not lift the sanctions against the Syrian regime, and will not change its position against reconstruction in Syria until real and lasting progress is achieved towards a political solution.
She indicated that Assad and those around him remain the biggest obstacle to this goal, and that they must be held accountable, and that Washington will use all possible tools to increase the isolation of the Syrian regime.
She said that American officials were shocked when Assad was received as head of state in the Emirates, and they conveyed this to the Emiratis, and stressed that this welcome had enormous propaganda value and nothing more.
The same spokeswoman shed light on the tragedy of the Syrians, noting that they suffer from hunger and poverty more than ever, and continued, "Responsibility for this ongoing tragedy lies with Bashar al-Assad, who is supported by Russia and Iran."
Syrian displaced people in random camps do not receive any humanitarian aid (Al-Jazeera)
Anxiety and communication
Regarding the Turkish role, Leaf said that the US administration is deeply concerned by the current Turkish rhetoric about possible military movements in northern Syria, and we have intensified our diplomatic commitments to try to stop this.
During the parliamentary hearing, she stressed her government's "deep" concern over what she called the threats of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan directed against Kurdish fighters in Syria.
"We have intensified our diplomatic contacts to try to stop this matter...we are taking tireless steps towards the Turkish government, to get it to abandon this reckless adventure," she said.
When asked whether Ankara would abandon its scheme thanks to the American efforts, the official replied, "I will be very frank, I cannot assure you of that."
Since the end of last May, the Turkish president has repeatedly threatened to carry out a new military operation in two regions in northern Syria against Kurdish fighters he classifies as "terrorists", including the Kurdish People's Protection Units, which was supported by the United States and the international coalition in its fight against the Islamic State.
Washington has doubled its warnings against carrying out such an attack, which, according to it, causes destabilization in the region and weakens the war against extremist groups.