By Meletus EZE
U.S. President Donald Trump must reject any demands from President Vladimir Putin regarding Syria, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel said in a statement on Monday.
“We therefore call on President Trump to reject any Russian demands with respect to Syria,” Engel and Menendez said in a joint statement in response to a highly anticipated summit between Putin and Trump in Helsinki on Monday.
They feared that any concession from Trump would undermine efforts to protect civilians in Syria, empower Iran and jeopardise the security of Israel.
Trump must instead demand that Putin follow through on his obligations with regard to the Iranian presence in Syria and make sure Syrian President Assad Bashar commits to a political process that will end the conflict, they said.
The Trump administration should also release all funds still under review for Syrian stabilization and assistance programs, they said.Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations.
Russia along with Turkey and Iran are guarantors of the ceasefire regime in Syria. Moscow has also been providing humanitarian aid to residents of the crisis-torn country.
