![White House Hopes Talks Will End Assad Regime](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2013/04/White-House-at-dusk.jpg?w=980&q=75)
White House Hopes Talks Will End Assad Regime
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — The White House is expressing hope that newly announced Syrian peace talks will bring new leadership to the war-torn country.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest says removing Syrian President Bashar Assad is the goal of talks scheduled for Jan. 22 in Geneva.
The talks would be the first meeting of Syria's government and opposition groups since the beginning of a 3-year-old civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people and destabilized the region.
Earnest told reporters traveling with President Barack Obama Monday that the talks are "the best opportunity" to form a new transitional government and end the suffering of the Syrian people. Earnest stressed there are many challenges ahead and said the process will be "very difficult."
More From News Talk 96.5 KPEL
![Donald Trump Has Made His Vice Presidential Pick](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-GettyImages-2159730000.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Man Wins $100,000 With Lottery Strategy From Watching ‘Lottery Changed My Life’](http://townsquare.media/site/33/files/2022/04/attachment-giorgio-trovato-BRl69uNXr7g-unsplash.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Louisiana to be Prominently Featured at Republican National Convention](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-RNC-LOGO.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![What We Know About the 20-Year-Old Man Who Tried to Assassinate Donald Trump](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-GettyImages-2161922154.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Local Officer Encountered Gunman Just Before He Shot Toward Trump at Rally](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-GettyImages-2161922387.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Man Killed at Trump Rally Identified as Former Fire Chief, ‘Girl Dad’ who ‘Died a Hero’](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-Untitled-design-2024-07-14T144115.615.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![UPDATE: Trump Safe, Shooter Neutralized After Shots Fired at Rally](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-Shooting-Trump-Rally-Pennsylvania.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Did Authorities Spot the Loch Ness Monster On a Texas Highway?](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-Screen-Shot-2024-07-09-at-8.07.05-AM.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![‘Birds Aren’t Real’ Movement Claim Birds Are a Government Conspiracy](http://townsquare.media/site/33/files/2021/06/attachment-Birds-Arent-Real-2.jpg?w=980&q=75)