Nearly 400 members of the US Congress on Monday signed a bipartisan letter to President Donald Trump calling on him to demonstrate American leadership in resolving the prolonged conflict in Syria.
The letter also called for economic and diplomatic pressure on Russia and Iran to retreat from their support for the Assad regime, and intensifying sanctions on Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist militia that is Iran’s ally.
The bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators called on President Trump to implement a comprehensive Syria strategy that addresses the security threats faced by the United States and its allies.
On November 15, 2016, the US Congress unanimously passed The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act threating sanctions on the Assad regime and countries backing it such as Iran and Russia for another 10 years.
The legislation will allow the US president to impose new sanctions on any individual or entity that deals with or provides funding to the Assad regime, including to the intelligence and security services and the central bank.
The Assad regime and Russian forces have recently launched a brutal bombing campaign against Idlib and rural Hama.
Head of the Syrian Negotiations Commission, Nasr al-Hariri, said that the Assad regime is seeking to wriggle out of its political obligations through military escalation. He stressed that since the start of its direct military intervention in Syria in 2015, Russia has been trying to shore up the Assad regime and enable it to achieve military victory. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
