20 Dec, 2015 – The US is not seeking regime change in Syria, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Russian media on a Moscow trip. However, calling the Syrian president “a magnet for terrorists,” Kerry said Bashar Assad cannot stay in the country’s “long-term future.”
Kerry was interviewed by Rossiya 24 channel television during his trip to the Russian capital on Saturday between meetings with his counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Russian President, Vladimir Putin.  
 
“I am here to talk with President Putin about Syria and our need to join together to stabilize Syria; try to make peace in a way that keeps it as a whole country, and also – most importantly – also destroy Daesh (Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL). Daesh is a terrorist organization, a threat to all of us. We have a common interest and we need to work together,” he stressed.
According to the Secretary of State, it was very important for the Russian people to understand the American approach to the Syrian crisis.
 
“We are not trying to do a regime change. We are not engaged in a color revolution.  We’re not engaged in trying to interfere in another country … We’re trying to make peace,” he explained.
 
However, Kerry reiterated Washington’s stance that Assad must leave his position for peace in Syria to be achieved.
“Russia can’t stop the war with Assad there because Assad attracts the foreign fighters. Assad is a magnet for terrorists, because they’re coming to fight Assad,” he said.
 “So if you want to stop the war in Syria, and we do, if you want to fight Daesh and stop the growth of terrorism, you have to deal with the problem of Assad. Now, that doesn’t mean we want to change every aspect of the government; we don’t,” the diplomat added.
The US Secretary of State also said he did not rule out the possibility of Syrian government forces loyal to Assad being viewed by Washington as a viable part of the operation against IS terrorists.
“Absolutely,” he said when addressed on the issue, “providing there is a legitimate transitional process, which the Geneva communique calls for, with a government of transition, where the opposition is part of the government and the issue of Assad will be resolved through that process and people have confidence in that.”
“Under those circumstances, it is possible to envision the army of Syria, together with the opposition, turning against Daesh, providing Assad is not the long-term future of Syria,” Kerry added.