The administration of US President Barack Obama has called on the Pentagon to draw up plans to impose no-fly zones over Syria, a report says.\n<\/p>\n
Two unidentified Obama administration officials told The Daily Beast in a report published on Tuesday that the White House request was made just before US Secretary of State John Kerry started his Middle East tour last week.\n<\/p>\n
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters, said that Obama is pursuing a “dual-track strategy” of making efforts towards a political solution to the two-year crisis in Syria while simultaneously preparing plans for military intervention.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cThe White House is still in contemplation mode but the planning is moving forward and it\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s more advanced than it\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s ever been,\u201d said one official.\n<\/p>\n
All this meant to find a political solution, stated the official, adding \u00c5\u201cbut what happens if Geneva fails? It\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s only prudent to plan for other options.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said the government of President Bashar al-Assad will participate in an international peace conference on the Syrian crisis that is likely to take place in Geneva in June.\n<\/p>\n
At a meeting in Moscow on May 7, Russia and the United States reached an agreement to convene an international conference on Syria, which would serve as a follow-up to an earlier Geneva meeting held in June 2012.\n<\/p>\n
The Syria crisis began in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.\n<\/p>\n
The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.\n<\/p>\n
Assad said on May 23, \u00c5\u201cSyria is determined to tackle terrorism and those who support it regionally and globally, and to find a political solution to the crisis.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
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