As violence in Syria enters its third year, the needs of its refugees — and of neighboring countries providing them refuge — are greater than ever, U.S. officials say, and the United States is supporting international efforts to provide aid.
Against the backdrop of the United Nations–brokered Syrian peace talks taking place about 360 kilometers away, the annual World Economic Forum opened January 22 in Davos, Switzerland, under the theme "Reshaping the World."
President Obama announced that he will seek support from the U.S. Congress to carry out a limited military response against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which executed a poison gas attack August 21 that killed 1,429 Syrian civilians in the Damascus suburbs.
An agreement worked out between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov represents a concrete step toward eliminating Syria's lethal and extensive chemical weapons program, says President Obama.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced May 16 that it has taken action targeting senior Syrian officials, as well as companies supporting the government of Syria and linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and Hezbollah.
The United States is providing an "exceptional amount" of humanitarian aid to the Syrian people and rising levels of nonlethal assistance to the Syrian opposition, according to White House press secretary Jay Carney.
The United States is releasing an additional $155 million to buy food, blankets, medical supplies and other types of humanitarian assistance to help Syrians suffering under the Assad regime.
