'Something has been broken in Syria'

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Anxious to keep Syria's civil war from spiraling into bigger problems, President Barack Obama said Friday he worries about the country becoming a haven for extremists when — not if — President Bashar Assad is ousted from power.

The president, standing side by side with Jordan's King Abdullah II, said the international community must work together to ensure there is a credible opposition ready to step into the breach in Syria.

"Something has been broken in Syria, and it's not going to be put back together perfectly immediately — even after Assad leaves," Obama said. "But we can begin the process of moving it in a better direction, and having a cohesive opposition is critical to that."

Trying to resolve another source of tension in the region, the president helped broker a phone call between the Israeli and Turkish prime ministers that led to agreement to restore normal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"The timing was good for that conversation to take place," Obama said.

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