As Syrian peace talks in Geneva appeared to flounder, US President Barack Obama on Friday vowed to step up pressure on the regime of President Bashar Al Assad.| And this time he really, really means it! |
The US leader said both he and the Jordanian king "recognise that we can't just treat the symptoms" of the Syrian 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."
"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," Obama said.
"There will be some intermediate steps that we can take to apply more pressure to the 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," he said, 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, worth $660 million a year, expires in September.
The funds are aimed in part at helping Washington's Middle East ally cope with the flood of Syrian refugees and its loss of natural gas from Egypt, White House officials said.
| Perhaps Jordan should talk with Israel. I hear the latter has lots of natural gas... |
Jordan has borne the brunt of much of the humanitarian overflow, with nearly 600,000 Syrian refugees on its soil, straining its infrastructure and finances. The United States is the largest aid donor to Syrian refugees, so far donating $1.7 billion to the cause, according to the US Agency for International Development.
| The refugees, to a man, woman and child, are all grateful of course. They sing our praises... |
| As opposed to having the country work a little harder and raise the $1 billion itself... |
Concerning Syria, Washington has been trying "to work with and press the Russians to understand that the status quo is not serving their interests either," the official said. "They are much closer to the parts of Syria than we are that are becoming increasingly ungoverned and dangerous."