WASHINGTON
US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron said they were working together to increase pressure on Assad regime in Syria.
During a joint press conference with cameron, Obama said, "we discussed Syria and the appalling violence being inflicted on the Syrian people. Together, we're going to continue our efforts to increase pressure on the Assad regime, to provide humanitarian aid to the long-suffering Syrian people, to strengthen the moderate opposition and to prepare for a democratic Syria without Bashar Assad."
"And that includes bringing together representatives of the regime and the opposition in Geneva in the coming weeks to agree on a transitional body which would allow a transfer of power from Assad to this governing body. Meanwhile, we'll continue to work to establish the facts around the use of chemical weapons in Syria. And those facts will help guide our next steps," he added.
In his part, Cameron said, "we discussed the brutal conflict in Syria, 80,000 dead, 5 million people forced from their homes. Syria's history is being written in the blood of her people, and it is happening on our watch. The world urgently needs to come together to bring the killing to an end. None of us have any interest in seeing more lives lost, in seeing chemical weapons used or extremist violence spreading even further."
"So we welcome President Putin's agreement to join an effort to achieve a political solution. The challenges remain formidable, but we have an urgent window of opportunity before the worst fears are realized. There is no more urgent international task than this. We need to get Syrians to the table to agree a transitional government that can win the consent of all of the Syrian people," he noted.
Cameron added, "but there will be no political progress unless the opposition is able to withstand the onslaught and put pressure on Assad so he knows there is no military victory. So we will also increase our efforts to support and to shape the moderate opposition."
"Britain is pushing for more flexibility in the EU arms embargo, and we will double nonlethal support to the Syrian opposition in the coming year. Armored vehicles, body armor and power generators are ripe to be shipped. We're helping local councils govern the areas that they liberate, and we're supporting Lebanon and Jordan to deal with the influx of refugees," he said.
Cameron also said, "whatever our differences, we have the same aim: a stable, inclusive and peaceful Syria free from the scourge of extremism."
