White House says supports political solution to Syria crisis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday it supported a political solution that would stop the violence in Syria after Russia's Foreign Ministry said Syria agreed to Russian-brokered negotiations over the crisis.

Asked about Russia's initiative to hold talks in Moscow, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "We don't have details at this point on that meeting. But in general we support efforts to reach a political solution that stops the violence in Syria.

"We're discussing with the Russians and other partners how best to use all the levers at the command of the international community and the United Nations to press the Syrian government to stop its appalling and ultimately ineffective and harmful repression," Carney said.

"It's important that the (U.N.) Security Council take action," he said. "We believe that the Security Council should not permit the Assad regime to assault the Syrian people while it rejects the Arab League's proposal for a political solution."

Carney called it "inevitable" that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would fall from power.

"As governments make decisions about where they stand on this issue and what further steps need to be taken with regards to the brutality of the Assad regime, it's important to calculate into your considerations the fact that he will go. The regime has lost control of the country and will eventually fall," he said.

(Reporting by Laura MacInnis and Jeff Mason; Editing by Sandra Maler)