UK Premier wants peaceful change in Syria

British Prime Minister David Cameron, currently on a visit to the United States, has said he wants to see peaceful transition of power in Syria, rather than revolution. Ahead of talks with US President Barack Obama, the UK Premier said he was frustrated at the "appalling" situation in Homs, which has been under assault by government forces. "The shortest way of ending the violence is a transition where Assad goes, rather than a revolution from the bottom. Transition at the top rather than revolution at the bottom," Cameron said. However, the conflict in Afghanistan is expected to dominate Wednesday's talks. Cameron said the public wanted "an endgame" to the war in Afghanistan. The leaders are expected to agree that Afghan forces should take over a lead combat role early - by mid-2013. However, Obama has said there will be no "rush for the exits". British and US combat troops are expected to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. In the first day of Cameron's three-day visit, the two leaders emphasized the importance of the "special relationship" between the two nations. Obama made Cameron the first foreign leader he has welcomed onto the presidential plane Air Force One, as they travelled to Ohio to watch a university basketball game. Shared foreign policy concerns, such as the situations in Iran and Syria, are also expected to be high on Wednesday's agenda. The leaders are also expected to discuss diplomatic and economic measures to increase pressure on the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The visit comes at a tense time for Afghanistan after an American soldier shot dead 16 Afghan civilians. As an Afghan government delegation visited the site in Kandahar on Tuesday, they came under attack from militants. Cameron acknowledged the country would not have a "perfect democracy" by 2014. But he envisaged "leaving Afghanistan looking after its own security, not being a haven for terror, without the involvement of foreign troops". The White House talks will be followed by a press conference and lunch attended by UK Chancellor George Osborne, Foreign Secretary William Hague, US Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Cameron made his first official visit to the US as prime minister in July 2010. The latest meeting comes ahead of NATO and G8 summits.