BICOM

The US Syria envoy has said America won’t seek to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, but added that unless the regime was “fundamentally different”, no funding will be received for reconstruction.

James Jeffrey said in a speech at the Atlantic Council that Assad needed to compromise as he had not yet won the brutal seven-year civil war as 100,000 rebel fighters remain in Syria.

Jeffrey estimated that Syria would need $300-400bn for reconstruction and said: “There is a strong readiness on the part of Western nations not to ante up money for that disaster unless we have some kind of idea that the government is ready to compromise and thus not create yet another horror in the years ahead.”

Jeffrey emphasised the importance of UN Resolution 2254, which establishes the principle that there is no military solution to the civil war. Jeffrey said: “The regime has not won this conflict,” and the international community is not going to resolve the conflict on terms favourable to the regime. He added that: “If the bulk of the Arab world, Europe, the US, and international agencies and organisations, hold the line and say without following 2254, we are not going to provide support for the Assad regime, what is the Assad regime going to do?”

In October, US secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that the US would not provide “one single dollar” for Syria’s reconstruction if Iran stays. Jeffrey said that the military offensive by Turkey or any other force in northeast Syria would be “a bad idea”.