White House Maintains Assad ‘Has Lost the Legitimacy’ to Lead Syria

BILBASSY-CHARTERS: “On Syria, the president said on Friday that he's willing to work with Russia and Iran. Your position is very clear which is Assad is not part of that process, you support the moderate Syrian opposition. The Russians and the Iranians position is also clear, Assad is a legitimate leader  [indecipherable] and all rebels are terrorists. So what exactly -- where is the common ground between you and the Russians and the Iranians that president want to talk about?”

EARNEST: “There are a couple places of common ground. The first is that both the United States and Russia understand the significant threat that is posed by ISIL. We understand that this is just -- not just a destabilizing threat in the region, but also places -- poses a threat of varying degrees to our interests around the world and that is one area of common ground. You’ve heard me, the president, did the same thing, raise significant concerns about the strategy that Russia has carried out in pursuit of that particular priority. And I think there are reasons to be skeptical that what they're doing is going to be effective in pursuit of that specific goal. But it is a goal of they have indicated nonetheless. I don't think there's any reason to call on the question that they -- about their true views on that. I think the second thing I would point out is that there is some common ground about the need for a political transition. There’s an acknowledgment, i think on the part of -- that is an acknowledgment, I think on the part of the Russians that there’s no military solution that can be imposed on Syria. That certainly is something that you've heard the president say on a number of occasions. And we welcomed that observation and this usually a declaration from President Putin last week. So the fact that there needs to be a political transition is a starting point for conversations. But we've also made no bones about the fact that there's a difference of opinion about what that transition, political transition looks like. And the president can make what I think is a persuasive case. President Assad is somebody who's lost legitimacy to lead that country. Not just because of the moral authority he ceded by carrying out terrible acts of violence against citizens of Syria, but also because of the way that he has completely lost the confidence in the people of Syria. The vast majority of the people of Syria, two-thirds, three quarters or more of them have – essentially live in communities that have been targeted by the Assad regime. So you can understand why it's simply not practical, not feasible for President Assad to continue to lead that country at least in the current form. And that is – I think that is something that should be pretty evident. We’re going to continue to make the case that a political transition is necessary and make, I think, what is a pretty obvious observation that President Assad is not fit to lead the country.”