WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- Syrian Opposition Coalition President Ahmad Jarba met Tuesday with U.S. President Barack Obama and National Security Adviser Susan Rice at the White House.
Following the meeting, the Syrian opposition described the discussion as "encouraging and productive."
At the meeting, the White House reaffirmed that Syrian President "Bashar al-Assad has lost all legitimacy to rule Syria and has no place in Syria's future."
America's support for the Syrian opposition and the opposition's recent meetings with U.S. government officials represents, in the words of the Syrian opposition, "a milestone for a new era in relations between the United States and the Syrian people towards establishing continuous coordination and cooperation in ending the Syrian people's suffering, establishing democracy, and countering extremism."
While appreciative of the $287 million in non-lethal assistance, Jarba and his delegates also voiced "the need to empower the Syrian people to defend themselves against the war crimes committed by the regime daily and the need for more pressure against Assad to accept a political solution."
