David Cameron in US for talks with Obama

British prime minister David Cameron has flown to the US for talks with president Barack Obama regarding the ongoing conflict in Syria, with the UK and US agreeing to work together to aid the opposition and replace Bashar al-Assad with a transitional body.

Mr Cameron is currently in Washington for talks, having flown from Russia where he was discussing the same issue with president Vladimir Putin. In a press conference that occurred after he had spoken with the US president, the prime minister said: “Syria’s history is being written in her blood and it is happening on our watch…. the world urgently needs to come together to bring the killing to an end. None of us have any interest in seeing more lives lost, in seeing chemical weapons used, or extremist violence spreading even further.”

He concluded: “There is now, I believe, common ground between the US, UK, Russia and many others that whatever our differences we have the same aim: a stable, inclusive and peaceful Syria, free from the scourge of extremism. There is real political will behind this, we now need to get on and do everything we can to make it happen.”

President Obama said there would be “enormous challenges in getting a credible process going” when it came to this transitional body, due to the “combustible mix” of other countries that are involved in the situation in Syria.

He added that the process would be helped by having a “strong friend and partner like Great Britain by our side and strong leadership by prime minister David Cameron”.

The transitional body will be the main target of a conference in Geneva, which will be occurring in the near future. Russia is also offering support for this conference.

Molly Kersey