US: No direct, indirect communication with Assad

The Obama administration yesterday rejected claims by Syria that it has received intelligence from the US through a third party.

During a television interview, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said his government is receiving messages from the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State (ISIS).

The White House and the US State and Defence departments all rejected the assertions.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the US has never coordinated actions with the Assad regime and would not.

But he noted that prior to initiating strikes in Syria, the US informed the regime of its plans, through its ambassador to the United Nations.

“What was made clear in that communication is that it’s the responsibility of the Syrian government, to put it bluntly, to stay out of the way,” Earnest said.

A Pentagon spokesman also denied Al-Assad’s claims.

“We don’t have any direct or indirect communication with the Assad regime in military terms,” Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters.

Al-Assad said third parties, among them Iraq, were conveying “information” rather than coordination with the US-led coalition.

Kirby said questions about possible Iraqi intermediaries should be referred to Iraqi officials.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki also touched on the issue and said the US would not work with the Assad regime as it has created an environment that ISIS has exploited.

She said she would not go through details of private diplomatic discussions with Iraq.