Obama meets Syrian opposition leader
President Barack Obama met Syrian opposition leader Ahmad Jarba Tuesday in a show of support for moderate, embattled foes of President Bashar al-Assad, The Daily Star reports.
Both sides said the meeting was productive and marked an important step in the evolving relationship between the United States and the opposition.
It took place however as the Obama administration again voiced concerns that any deadly aid that was provided at the request of rebels in Syria could end up in the hands of extremists.
Obama dropped by a meeting between Jarba, president of the Syrian National Coalition, and his national security advisor Susan Rice.
The White House said Obama and Rice condemned "the Assad regime's deliberate targeting of Syrian civilians through aerial bombardments -- including the use of barrel bombs -- and the denial of food and humanitarian assistance to civilians located in areas under siege by the regime."
Jarba, according to a White House statement, thanked Obama for a total of $287 million in US aid to opposition forces and noted the US role as the largest humanitarian donor to Syrian refugees with a total aid grant of $1.7 billion.
But there was no mention in the statement of Jarba's previous plea to the administration for anti-aircraft weapons to combat the barrel bombings unleashed by Assad's forces.