John Kerry said he believed the international community “wasted a year” by not working together to help topple President Bashar al-Assad.

The various countries trying to help the so-called Free Syrian Army had failed to coordinate their efforts effectively for a long time, Kerry said inside the private meeting last Thursday with opposition leader Ahmad Jarba, according to three participants in the meeting. And that lack of coordination had dramatically set back the drive to stop Assad’s victory.

All three participants in the meeting requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the gathering, which was held at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Several State Department officials, at least one National Security Council staffer, and several representatives of the Syrian Opposition Coalition and the Supreme Military Council were in attendance, The Daily Beast reported.

The participants said Kerry made the remark in the context of a discussion about renewed efforts to coordinate the flow of both aid and weapons to the Syrian militants.

In recent weeks, the militant groups have begun to receive and use American-made anti-tank missiles.

Over the past months, the Syrian army has achieved major victories in its battle against Takfiri groups across the Arab country, particularly in the Qalamoun region near the Lebanese border.

Syria is preparing to hold an important presidential election on June 3.

Last month, Assad said the Takfiri war in his country had strongly shifted in favor of government forces as they had made continuous gains in their battle against terrorists.

President Assad has also pledged to strike terror “with an iron fist.”
 

BA/BA