have missed some deadlines. on the other hand, we have completely chronicled all the chemical weapons inside of syria. a portion of those chemical weapons have been removed. there s been a reaffirmation by the syrians and russia that all of it has to be removed. and concrete steps are being taken to remove it. and we will continue to keep the pressure on, but we now have a u.n. mandate with consequences if there is a failure, something that we did not have before. whether we can duplicate that kind of process when it comes to the larger resolution of the problem, right now we don t think that there s a military solution, per se, to the problem. but the situation is fluid, and we are continuing to explore every possible avenue to solve this problem, because it s not
they ve got a lot of pomp and circumstance, shall we say, including all of the protocol that s required for the arrival ceremony and later tonight the state dinner. how awkward has it been, though, because of some of the changes in his own personal relationship with his long-time partner and the alleged affair with this younger actress? how has that played out as far as washington is concerned? reporter: well, as far as washington is concerned, wolf, at least official washington, it s almost as if it isn t even happening. the white house really downplaying how any of this drama is affecting the visit. after all, they say, there are issues of substance to talk about here. iran, syria, surveillance by the nsa, concerns from france. but certainly the headlines, the interest, coming from outside of washington. this is very much where the interest is. i think we have been saying in a way that some of the foreign affairs of this trip have been eclipsed by the affairs of the heart. and all
blocking, there s no prize for getting who it is. it is the syrian regime. one other observation, a conclusion, as a matter of fact. we should help along the humanitarian situation. and that is why a resolution will be voted at the nusc. and we will see again who speaks clearly on the issue of the syrian question and who is partisan. how can you object to humanitarian corridors? why would you prevent the vote of a resolution if, in good faith, it is all about saving human lives? so we decided to go all the way. and to get these clarifications.
questions each. let s start with where is mark? there he is. new york times. reporter: good afternoon. both of you talked about syria a good deal in your opening remarks. and i wanted to ask a bit about that. the latest round of the geneva ii talks have proven to be as unproductive as the first round was. the chemical weapons agreement that you both alluded to has removed some weapons, but by all accounts, it s a small fraction of the overall stockpile the assad regime has, and the syrians have missed a couple of deadlines. and as i don t need to tell you, the syrian regime is essentially starving thousands of syrians in homes and elsewhere. everybody agrees that more pressure needs to be brought to bear on the assad regime to change this deadly equation. and so i wonder, beyond the
there. syria must meet its commitments and russia has a responsibility to ensure that syria complies. and as talks continue in geneva, we ll continue to strengthen the moderate opposition, and we call on the international community to stem the flow of foreign fighters into syria. this week we re working with our security council partners to call for an end to indiscriminate attacks on civilians and to ensure humidititarian aid workers have unimpeded aid access to syrians in need. and we ll continue to work with france and others to bolster our partners in the region, including lebanon. more broadly, as israelis and palestinians move forward with talks, we agree that france and the european union will have an important role in supporting a final agreement. and we also agreed to continue our cooperation on mali and the central african republic where leaders and communities need to show the courage to resist