US Not In Business Trying To Engineer Regime Change In Syria - State Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2021) The United States does not seek to engineer a regime change in Syria, but normalizing relations with the government of President Bashar Assad is also not on the table, US Department of State spokesperson Ned price told reporters on Thursday.

"Assad, over the course of the ten years... hasn't regained that legitimacy in our eyes, and there is absolutely no question of the United States normalizing relations with his government," Price said. "We are at the same time not in the business of trying to engineer regime change in the region.

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Price said Washington will focus on bringing about a political settlement in Syria and demanding accountability and justice for the Syrian people.

The war in Syria started in 2011 as part of the wider Arab Spring unrest, with numerous armed opposition factions and terrorist groups fighting to topplethe government of President Bashar Assad. The US-led intervention in the Syrian conflict began in 2014 with a stated goal to defeat the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia) and remove Assad from power.