After US strikes, Trump's Syria plan starts coming into view
WASHINGTON (AP) - Can the threat of war crimes charges or promise of safe haven finally persuade Syrian President Bashar Assad to leave power?
Those long-shot proposals are among several at the center of the Trump administration's strategy to resolve Syria's six-year civil war.
President Donald Trump's plans for Syria are still evolving. But they have become clearer in the days since Trump ordered airstrikes punishing Assad for a chemical attack.
The plan breaks down into three basic phases: defeating the Islamic State group, restoring stability region-by-region and securing a political transition in which Assad ultimately leaves power.
One of the most unpredictable variables is Russia. The country's vast differences with the U.S. over Syria were illustrated last week when Trump declared relations "may be at an all-time low."