U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday the United States is working towards a ‘political solution’ in Syria and the administration does not have a timeline on when Assad should leave office:
Q: On Syria. Last week General Dempsey told the Congress that in his estimation, President Assad would probably be in power about a year from now. And given the support the regime's received from Russia and Iran, his forces appear to have the upper hand.
Does the State Department still take the view that Assad's days are numbered? And is it your expectation that Assad will leave office before President Obama's term expires?
MS. PSAKI: Before President Obama's term expires -- well, it is true, Michael, of course, that the regime may have made some gains on the ground. It does remain to be seen whether it can hold them. Our view is this is a grinding war and the best way to end this conflict is a political solution, which is what we are very focused on in this building, what the secretary's focused on. That involves a genuine transition government. We certainly have seen and we've spoken about the influence of Hezbollah and Iran and outside sources and how that has bolstered the regime, but again, we believe that, you know, we can move towards a political solution. We're focused on strengthening the opposition on the ground, and that's why we're continuing to consider all options.
Q: Right, but do you still believe his days are numbered?
MS. PSAKI: We do.
Q: It's a very large number, though, yes? (Laughter.) I mean, did you -- did you envision it when the president said that and when your predecessor said it that it -- that the number would number in the hundreds?
MS. PSAKI: Well, Matt, let me say that this is obviously a very complex situation on the ground. There are a lot of events that have happened in the past year and a half or so, including the fact that the opposition has formed; they have elected leadership; they have strengthened themselves. They have more to do. We have more we want to do to help strengthen them. But you know, we continue to remain focused on the end goal here, which is a political solution and a political transition for Syria.
Q: So did the administration believe that when it said that Assad's days were numbered that it was going to amount to over 365?
MS. PSAKI: Matt, all we can do is remain focused on how we can strengthen the opposition on the ground and move to a political solution.