US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has stressed that Washington is committed to allowing the Syrian people to establish a new government that is not led by Bashar Assad.
“Our goal is to move the Syria civil war into the Geneva process so the Syrian people can establish a new government that is not led by Assad and give them a chance for a future that Assad has denied them, with -- with overt Russian and Iranian support,” Mattis told a press conference he held at the Pentagon on Tuesday.
“The Department of State has been in active communication -- recent active communication with Russia to enlist them in preventing” a chemical attack in Syria, he said.
His comments came amid reports that Syrian forces were moving chemical weapons into Idlib province that the regime seeks to recapture.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov has said, however, that rebels in Syria were preparing a provocative act to accuse Damascus of using chemical weapons against civilians in Idlib.
A UN-led group of health agencies said in a monthly report this month that an anticipated regime offensive in Idlib could displace more than 700,000 people.
Many of Syria’s battles have ended with agreements for fighters and their families to depart for Idlib, where an influx of displaced people has roughly doubled the population to around 2.5 million.
The United Nations has said the province has become a “dumping ground” for evacuees.
Meanwhile, Asharq Al-Awsat learned that James Jeffrey, the newly appointed US special representative for Syria, has started his official mission.
Jeffrey is scheduled to visit Turkey and also meet with several UN officials on the Syrian crisis to stress the need for Iranian forces to leave the country, sources told the newspaper.
Washington is committed to the UN plan led by peace envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to end the conflict in the war-torn country, they said.
