Obama Vows to Put More Pressure on Syrian Regime

Local Editor

US President Barack Obama on Friday vowed to apply more pressure on the Syrian regime.

Obama's remarks came as he hosted Jordan's King Abdullah II at the Sunnylands retreat in Palm Springs, in southern California, to discuss issues that include the flood of Syrian refugees pouring into Jordan.

Obama said that both leaders "recognize that we can't just treat the symptoms" of the crisis, "we're also going to have to solve the underlying problem -- a regime led by Bashar al-Assad that has shown very little regard for the well-being of his people.

"We are going to need a political transition in that region," Obama said.

"We don't expect to solve this any time in the short term so there are going to be some immediate steps that we have to take to help the humanitarian situation there," he said.

Obama further said: "There will be some intermediate steps that we can take to apply more pressure to al-Assad regime, and we're going to be continuing to work with all the parties concerned to try to move forward on a diplomatic solution," without specifying what those steps may be.
At the meeting Obama pledged $1 billion in loan guarantees to Jordan, as well as a renewal of a five-year memorandum of understanding.

The current five-year package, currently worth $660 million a year, expires in September.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team