Obama seeks to reassure Gulf allies, sees no early end to Syria war

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday that Washington would help Gulf allies face conventional military aggression but also get them to work more in their own defence against any unconventional menace, such as destabilising Iranian actions in the region.

Speaking to Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television following a rare summit with Gulf Arab leaders he described as "very frank and honest", the U.S. leader reiterated his reluctance to take unilateral American action overseas.

Obama said Syria's civil war would "probably not" end before he left office, describing the situation as heartbreaking but adding that Washington could never on its own have brought that conflict to an end.

Many states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are critical of what they see as Obama's hesitant approach to the war in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad is backed by their regional rival Iran.

Obama said he sought to reassure Gulf states anxious over U.S.-led efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran, saying Tehran would have to "reearn the trust of the international community" by accepting close monitoring of its nuclear work.

"The alternative is not to have any idea what is taking place inside of Iran and that is, I think, a much more dangerous situation for everyone in the region," he said. - Read More  at Reuters

Obama seeks to reassure Gulf allies, sees no early end to Syria war
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