Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 2/4/2013

Q   On Syria, as well -- does the President have any concerns about the opposition leader's outreach that seems to go against what the U.S. is looking for? And has the President himself had any communication with the Syrian opposition leader? Or just Vice President Biden -- is Vice President Biden the highest official to have that conversation at this point?

MR. CARNEY: I’ll have to check on the second question. Certainly, Vice President Biden, as you know; Secretary Clinton and others. But I would take issue with the first. During the meeting in Munich, the Vice President commended Syrian Opposition Coalition President al-Khatib recent statements expressing openness under certain circumstances to the possibility of negotiations to bring the Syrian people the leadership they deserve.

Now, the U.S. position is clear. It is also the position of the Syrian people. We support a political resolution to the crisis in Syria. And as the Syrian people have made clear, Bashar al-Assad has lost all legitimacy to enable a political solution and a democratic transition that meets the aspiration of the Syrian people. 

So we will support the Syrian people as they determine which other members of the regime they can work with to facilitate a political transition that leads to a democratic, inclusive and unified Syria, that will protect the rule of law for all citizens and will hold those who have committed atrocities against the Syrian people to account. 

The broader point here is support the need for and the efforts towards a political solution. We have been clear, I think the opposition has been clear, and the Syrian people have been clear that that transition cannot include Assad because he has rendered himself wholly illegitimate in the eyes of the people.

Q   The opposition has already put some preconditions on the table that seem to -- that Assad's regime has said they don’t want to deal with. So how realistic at this point do you think those talks are coming to fruition?

MR. CARNEY: Well, again, the point here isn't about Assad’s participation in Syria’s future because there cannot be such participation. I think the idea that the Assad regime is united and cohesive is belied by what we've seen over weeks and months in terms of defections and other problems that they’ve had as the opposition has gained momentum and won territory in its efforts. 

So the fact is there has to be a political solution that cannot include, ultimately, Assad. And we support the Syrian people's efforts as they determine which members of the regime they can work with to facilitate that transition to a more democratic future for the country.