I don't believe anyone doubts the American people's values or the commitment of the American government or the government's agencies to advancing those values and defending those values.

I think continued actions by Bashar al-Assad clearly call into any question of him expecting to have any legitimacy to continue as the leader of Syria. With each of those actions, like attack with conventional weapons, barrel bombs and block humanitarian aid he really undermines his own legitimacy.

I do not think Syria can achieve international recognition in the future - even if they work through a successful political process, you know, the international community simply is not going to accept a Syria led by the Assad regime.

Once the ISIS threat has been reduced or eliminated, I think we can turn our attention directly to stabilizing the situation in Syria. We're hopeful that we can prevent a continuation of the civil war and that we can bring the parties to the table to begin the process of political discussions.

Russia and the USA are two largest nuclear powers in the world; it's a really important relationship. How do we start making this work? How do we live with one another? How do we work with one another? We simply have to find a way to go forward.

We are making tremendous progress that ISIS really does present to the homeland and to other homelands of allies around the world.

My understanding, I was not standing nearby, but my understanding is that President Xi Jinping said, "Well, no one should kill children." The Chinese have since issued their own statement on the Syria attack itself.