Obama Pushes Syria Regime Change to Russia
President Barack Obama is working to convince Russia to join an effort to implement a Yemen-style transfer of power in war-torn Syria, the New York Times reported.
According to Obama’s reported plan, Syrian President Bashar Assad would step down from power, while several members of his regime would remain in office, as was the case with ousted Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh earlier this year.
To accomplish this, the U.S. president is reportedly seeking the aid of staunch Assad ally Russia, hoping to sway Moscow away from its total objection to the idea of regime change in Syria.
U.S. administration officials, speaking to the New York Times on condition of anonymity, said that Obama had already brought up the plan during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the Group of 8 meeting at Camp David last week, adding that Medvedev appeared receptive.
A senior official told the New York Times that during the meeting “Medvedev raised the example of Mubarak in a cage,” as a negative form of power transfer, to which Obama “countered with Yemen, and the indication was, yes, this was something we could talk about.”
For more, go to Haaretz.com
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