Syrian government troops reportedly crossed to the eastern side of the Euphrates river, near Deir al-Zor, for the first time in their offensive against the Islamic State. The advance by the Syrian army is the latest in what the Russian defense ministry declared was a successful bid to provide President Bashar Assad with control of “most of the war-torn-country.” The successful advance by the Syrian army of President Bashar Assad has changed the vocal sentiment toward the Syrian regime, which even though still is perceived by Washington as illegitimate, Western officials declare that it was up to the Syrian people to decide who their leader should be. David Satterfield, acting assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, said, “We have made clear many times, that we do not believe at the end of this process that Assad should remain, that he has lost his legitimacy, and his right to rule. But that is a decision for the Syrian people to make. That is the outcome of the process. The process itself has to begin,” Satterfield emphasized.
The American undersecretary emphasized, however, that even though the Syrian population was responsible to choose its own leadership, it must be done under the auspices of the United Nations to assure that the political end-state is achieved.