Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Kremlin. Assad was in Moscow, in his first known trip abroad since the war broke out in Syria in 2011, to meet his strongest ally Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Alexei Druzhinin/AP hide caption
President Obama said Thursday at the White House that the U.S. doesn't yet have a strategy on how to deal with the Islamic State militant group. Michael Reynolds/EPA /LANDOV hide caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, in Moscow on Dec. 19, 2006. Russia -- along with China and Iran -- has remained a steadfast ally of Assad amid calls for international intervention in Syria. Mikhail Klimentyev/AP hide caption
A Syrian man protesting an alleged chemical weapons attack in his homeland holds up a placard Wednesday in front of the United Nations offices in Beirut. Hussein Malla/AP hide caption
Syrians inspect Saturday the rubble of buildings damaged by government airstrikes in Qusair, Syria. The image was provided by Qusair Lens, and was authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting. ASSOCIATED AP hide caption
Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib took on the presidency of the Syrian National Council after it was formed in November. AP hide caption
Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks at the Opera House in Damascus, Syria, on Jan. 6. In an interview with Britain's Sunday Times, Assad said that only the Syrian people can tell him when to go. SANA/AP hide caption
Activists in the town of Saraqib, Syria, hold a poster that reads, "Sheikh Moaz al Khatib represents me." Courtesy of Mahmoud Bakkour hide caption