US: World won’t rebuild Syria until political process starts

NEW YORK – The United States says world nations aren’t willing to contribute heavily to reconstruct Syria until a “credible political process” for the country’s future takes shape.

Foreign ministers from a group of “likeminded” countries on Syria met Tuesday on the sidelines of U.N. General Assembly meetings. The meeting comes as the Islamic State group nears defeat in Syria and attention returns to resolving the civil war and President Bashar Assad’s future.

David Satterfield is the acting top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East. He says countries won’t invest without a political process. But Satterfield says while the U.S. still believes Assad must go, Syrians must make the decision.

Satterfield also says all countries in the meeting agreed it’s not the right time for a referendum on Kurdish independence in neighbouring Iraq.