Obama tells Putin ‘Assad must go’

US President Barack Obama held firm that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must be removed from office, saying Thursday that he doesn’t believe the civil war in Syria will end while the dictator remains in power, the Wall Street Journal reported.

After a meeting in Manila with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the US president said his assertion that Mr Assad must go was a reflection of reality on the ground in Syria.

“The reason is not simply because of my opinion of him. It is because it is unimaginable that you can stop the civil war here when the overwhelming majority of people in Syria consider him to be a brutal, murderous dictator,” Mr Obama said. “He cannot regain legitimacy. And if in fact he is still in power, regardless of what outside powers do, there is still going to be large portions of the population that are fighting.”

Questions about Mr. Assad’s future have become a stumbling block as French President François Hollande works to assemble a “grand coalition” led by his country, the U.S. and Russia working together to combat Islamic State militants.

Mr Hollande has long argued for Mr. Assad’s ouster, saying that the Syrian president’s atrocities led to the creation of Islamic State. Moscow has supported Mr. Assad, suggesting that the Syrian state would collapse if he were removed from power.

Mr Obama said Iran, another longtime Assad supporter, and Russia “are going to have to make a fundamental decision: Do they actually believe that they can prop up Assad and win on the ground militarily inside Syria against all the opposition, or do they actually think that it is better to save the Syrian state and work with the international community and the U.N. to find a government that truly can be legitimate?”

The battle against Islamic State loomed large in Mr. Obama’s first one-on-one meeting with the new Canadian prime minister.

Using another term for Islamic State, Mr Trudeau said Canada “is committed to continuing to engage as a strong member of the coalition against ISIL in ways that will continue to support international efforts, including military engagement around training to ensure that Canada continues to be a strong player, doing its part—more than its part—to defend against ISIL.”

The two leaders, who met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the Philippines, also discussed a sweeping Pacific trade accord and international climate talks planned for the end of the month.

Mr Obama noted that Mr. Trudeau still is reviewing the Trans-Pacific Partnership but said he expected they would establish “the kind of high-standards agreement that protects labor, protects the environment.”

In remarks after the meeting, the U.S. president also continued to defend his administration’s screening process for Syrian and Iraqi refugees entering the country.

“The idea that somehow they pose a more significant threat than all the tourists who pour into the United States every single day just doesn’t jive with reality,” Mr. Obama said.

The US president described his first extended conversation with Mr. Trudeau as “wonderful” and said that “across the board, our interests are aligned.”

Their conversation came on the heels of Mr. Obama’s decision earlier this month to reject the Keystone XL pipeline. Mr. Trudeau’s predecessor, Prime Minister Stephen Harper,had been an outspoken advocate for the project, which would have moved up to 830,000 barrels of oil a day, mostly from Canada’s oil sands to Nebraska, where it would have connected with existing pipelines to reach Gulf Coast refineries.

After a seven-year review of the politically charged pipeline, Mr. Obama said the project wouldn't make a meaningful, long-term contribution to the economy and would undermine U.S. global efforts to fight climate change.

Mr Trudeau said at the time he was “disappointed” with the rejection, which came just two days after he was sworn into office. But the new prime minister added that the Canada-U.S. relationship is bigger than one project and said he looked forward to “a fresh start with President Obama to strengthen our remarkable ties.”

On Thursday, Mr Obama offered high praise for the Canadian leader, saying that Mr. Trudeau’s campaign had generated incredible excitement.

“I’m confident that he’s going to be able to provide a great boost of energy and transform the Canadian political landscape,” Mr. Obama said.