Obama Says Sending Ground Troops to Syria Out of Question
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US President Barack Obama ruled out deploying ground troops of a US-led coalition to Syria to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
"It would be a mistake for the United States, or Great Britain… to send in ground troops and overthrow the Assad regime," Obama said on Sunday.
The US leader also urged the international community to use its influence on parties to the five-year conflict "to sit down at the table and try to broker a transition" of power, as a solely military solution would not settle long-term issues of Syria, Sputnik News reported.
He added that Daesh (ISIL) terrorists operating in the war-torn country would not be defeated by the end of this year, but the US –led coalition could slowly shrink the area of their operation in Syria.
"[The US-led coalition will continue] to strike Daesh targets in places like Raqqa, and to try to isolate those portions of the country, and lock down those portions of the country that are sending foreign fighters into Europe," Obama pledged.
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with army forces fighting several opposition factions and extremist groups, such as Daesh and Nusra Front.
