Britain says Syrian reconstruction only after political transition 'away from Assad'
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Britain, the United States and other countries opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will not support the reconstruction of the country until there is a political transition "away from Assad," British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Monday.
"We believe that the only way forward is to get a political process going and to make it clear to the Iranians, Russians and Assad regime that we, the like-minded group, will not support the reconstruction of Syria until there is such a political process and that means, as Resolution 2254 says, to a transition away from Assad," he said.
Johnson was speaking after a meeting of about 14 countries that back the Syrian opposition including France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States.
(Reporting by John Irish; Writing by Mohammad Zargham in Washington; Editing by David Alexander)
