John Kerry Changes Stance on Syria: U.S. Not Seeking ‘Regime Change’

"As I emphasized today, the United States and our partners are not seeking so-called 'regime change,' as it is known in Syria. What we have said is that we don’t believe that Assad himself has the ability to be able to lead the future Syria, but we didn’t – we focused today not on our differences about what can or can’t be done immediately about Assad; we focused on a process – on the political process whereby Syrians will be making decisions for the future of Syria. But we do believe that nobody should be forced to choose between a dictator and being plagued by terrorists. Our challenge remains creating the conditions on which an alternative can emerge.

So while we don’t see eye to eye on every single aspect of Syria, we certainly agreed today – and President Putin agreed – that we see Syria fundamentally very similarly. We want the same outcomes. We see the same dangers. We understand the same challenges. And we all believe that a united, nonsectarian Syria represents the future, and we also agreed that it is a future without Daesh and we’re committed to try to continue to destroy Daesh."