U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry emerged from talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and announced a new stance on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: He can stay—at least, for now. “The United States and our partners are not seeking so-called regime change,” Kerry told reporters in Moscow after the meeting. The statement represented a distinct turnaround from the Obama administration’s previous position that Assad should step—or be forced—aside while the international community proceeded with the bombing of his country.
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