US not pursuing military option in Syria: White House

Washington, Feb 25: The US on Friday said that it is not pursuing military option in Syria at the moment, noting that this is not the wise thing to do under current circumstances.

"It is our view that further militarisation in Syria at this point in time is not a policy we believe is the wise one to pursue at this point," White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, told reporters.

The White House official said there is a broad international agreement about the way forward in Syria, about the fact that Assad should cease and desist his violence against innocent civilians, that the aspirations of the Syrian people should be realised, that humanitarian aid should be brought there and that Assad should leave power in Syria.

With an international conference on Syria currently underway in Tunisia, Earnest said he would not like to speculate what is in store in the future.

"I don't want to speculate about what might be warranted in the future. What we have said on this issue is that further militarising the situation in Syria at this point in time is not a wise policy course to pursue at this point," he said.

"What we're engaged in now with our partners and other countries in the region is an effort to see if there's things that we can do to bring humanitarian relief and aid to those who are affected by the violence, including medical supplies, to see if there are things that we can do to offer support to the Syrian National Council to speed a democratic transition, a political solution in Syria, and to increase the pressure through sanctions on the Assad regime. That's our posture at this point," Earnest said.

PTI