US Considering Sending Humanitarian Aid to Syria
The United States is considering providing humanitarian aid to the Syrian people as Washington ramps up pressure on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the White House has said.
“We are going to continue to work with international allies….to put the pressure required,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.
Carney reiterated that the Obama administration was not weighing the prospects of arming anti-government forces seeking to topple Assad. But without offering details, he said: “We are exploring the possibilty of providing humanitarian aid to Syrians.”
Earlier, Russia said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has presented reform plans to help end the bloodshed in Syria, but Western and Arab states acted to isolate Assad further as his forces resumed bombarding the protest hotbed of Homs.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with Assad in Damascus on a solution to the crisis palatable to Moscow, a longtime ally of Assad, after it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that backed an Arab League call for his ouster.
But the Russian mediation failed to slow a rush by countries that denounced the Russian-Chinese veto three days ago to corner Syria diplomatically and cripple Assad with sanctions in hopes of removing him and encouraging reforms to avert chaos in a region straddling major fault lines of Middle East conflict.