WASHINGTON
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday discussed the Syria issue with Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Ban Ki-moon.
Kerry stressed that the pressure on Assad regime has to continue and that they need to support opposition leaders who respect the rights of Syrian people, during a press conference with Ban.
The newly appointed Secretary of State Kerry underlined that he wanted to listen to Ban's ideas over the issue and stressed, "I want to learn from the Secretary General what he thinks we can do to best assist in the effort to try to change President Assad's calculations, to stop the bloodshed and begin a peaceful political transition towards a democratic future for all of the people of Syria."
Kerry touched on the death toll in Syria and said that it may have reached 90,000. "I had occasion to speak this morning with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Saud al-Faisal. The first thing he mentioned to me was in his estimate perhaps as many as 90,000 people have been killed in Syria," Kerry told journalists.
Moreover, Ban noted that the tragedy in Syria continues to deepen without any prospect of a political solution.
Addressing reporters, Ban said that the UN Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi and he were calling on the Security Council and the Syrian government to respond positively to the offer by National Coalition leader Moaz al-Khatib to open discussions.
