Obama administration struggles to craft ceasefire in Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) — As its struggles to craft a ceasefire in Syria's civil war, the Obama administration has become increasingly torn between its loyalty to Turkey as a NATO ally and to its longtime Arab partner, Saudi Arabia, and the cold pragmatism of Russia.

The result has been a confusing mix of shifting priorities that have exposed a policy toward Syria that few understand, and even fewer see working.

[...] the offensive continues on Syria's biggest city, Aleppo, a rebel territory under bombardment by the Russian-backed Syrian military, complicating the already difficult task of convincing President Bashar Assad's government to negotiate honestly with the opposition.

[...] the U.S. has staked its hopes for an end to the five-year civil war in Syria on peace talks and a negotiated transition that would end with Assad's eventual departure, saying the American public has no appetite for a military solution.

Despite public support for a NATO ally, American officials say they feel increasingly exasperated with Turkey's support for some of the most hardline rebel groups and its failure to close its Syrian border to foreign fighters and equipment.

The U.S. is being asked to explain if talks between Assad's government and rebels are designed to produce the ceasefire, or would only start after the fighting ends.

The ambiguity has emboldened Assad supporters Russia and Iran while confusing American allies in the Middle East, who are frustrated by a process that appears to lock the Syrian leader in place well into 2017 — and perhaps beyond.

[...] the U.S. is struggling to explain how the whole negotiation would reinforce America's own overriding mission: