WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill imposing sanctions against foreign backers providing support, including military assistance, to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
"[In Syria] we don’t have a government to work with, and we will never work with the Assad regime," McGurk told reporters.
McGurk explained that the coalition is prepared to do stabilization projects while conducting operations against Daesh, and noted the coalition had already identified hundreds of possible projects.
However, McGurk said, unlike in Iraq, the international community will not be prepared to fund reconstruction or stabilization projects in Syria until Assad’s government is replaced through a political process.
McGurk said the coalition was working diplomatically with local leaders on the ground in Syria on projects such as securing the Tabqa dam.
On Thursday, a US defense official told Sputnik that the US-led coalition fighting the Daesh terrorist group (banned in Russia) conducted a strike in southern Syria against Syrian pro-government forces which were operating in the established de-confliction zone.
