White House Press Gaggle May 13

Here's an excerpt (read the whole thing):

Q Thanks, Jay. Will you be announcing any financial help or any funds from the frozen funds of Qaddafi that will be released to the Libyan opposition after today?

MR. CARNEY: I don’t have any expectation of announcements of that nature, but I can tell you that we are concerned about the plight of the Libyan people and the humanitarian situation in Libya. We believe that if we could access and use blocked government of Libya assets it could make a different -- significant amount of money available to alleviate the suffering of the Libyan people.

And as you know, Secretary Clinton announced in Rome that we are moving ahead with pursuing legislation to allow us to access that blocked government of Libya assets -- those assets for humanitarian purposes. And we’re in ongoing discussions with Congress to try to make that happen. And we would support legislation that did that when it moves forward.

Q Back to the speech, if I may. Will the President be explaining to the wider audience in the Middle East why he is adopting a new -- a different approach when dealing with Syria and not dealing in the same way he dealt with Libya?

MR. CARNEY: Look, I think that, as we’ve said and he has said, each of the countries in the region, the Middle East and North Africa, is different. And the circumstances of the unrest and the government’s response have been different in each case. We strongly, in no uncertain terms, condemn the violence that the Syrian government has used against its people and continues to use. It has been made abundantly clear that the Syrian government’s security crackdown will not restore stability and will not stop the demands for change in Syria. The Syrian government continues to follow the lead of its Iranian ally in resorting to brute force and flagrant violations of human rights and suppressing peaceful protests.

As you know, on April 29th, the President signed an executive order imposing sanctions against senior Syrian officials and other Syrian and Iranian government entities responsible for human rights abuses, including the use of violence against civilians and the commission of other abuses. And I would say that absent significant change in the Syrian government’s current approach, the U.S. and its international partners will take additional steps to make clear our strong opposition to the Syrian government’s treatment of its people.

Jay also talked about the 50th anniversary of the Situation Room.