Obama rules out US ground troops in Syria
US President Barack Obama on Sunday ruled out any plans to send American ground troops in strife- torn Syria, saying it would be a “mistake” to deploy American or British soldiers to overthrow the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Obama, who has been in the UK for a three-day visit which has included a birthday lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and strong interventions in favour of Britain staying within the European Union (EU), said Syria was a “heart-breaking situation of enormous complexity”.
“I don’t think there are any simple solutions… It would be a mistake for the US, or Great Britain to send in ground troops and overthrow the (Bashar al-) Assad regime,” he told the BBC in an interview.
“In order for us to solve the long-term problems in Syria, a military solution alone – and certainly us deploying ground troops – is not going to bring that about,” he said.
Obama said the US-led coalition would continue “to strike ISIS (Islamic State) 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”.
He had earlier said that Europe would be safer with Britain voting to stay in the EU in the June 23 referendum and be able to tackle terrorism more effectively from within.
Obama warned that Brexit could hit Britain economically and take as long as a decade to negotiate a UK-US trade deal.
ANTALYA, TURKEY: US President Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin of Russia agreed Sunday on a UN role to end the Read more
With less than 48 hours separating the G20 Summit from the Paris carnage, the discourse at the meeting of leaders Read more
ANTALYA, TURKEY: President Barack Obama declared on Monday that his strategy for defeating the Islamic State is working despite last Read more
PARIS: At least two people are reported by the French media to have died in northern Paris on Wednesday during Read more
