Monday, September 19, 2016

Republicans press administration to take action against Russia over airstrikes in Syria

Senate Republicans are pressing the Obama administration to take a tougher stance toward Russia over recent airstrikes it launched from Iran against opposition forces in Syria, which the lawmakers say violate the nuclear deal with Tehran.
In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry they plan to deliver Monday, almost three dozen Republican senators, including the entire GOP leadership team, are asking for evidence the airstrikes were permissible under the U.N. Security Council resolution that endorsed the nuclear accord. If they were not, the senators are urging the administration to take action to dissuade Russia from taking similar steps in the future.
“Even if the current round of Russian airstrikes from an Iranian air base has come to a halt, we have no reason to believe they would not happen again, especially if there are no consequences for Russia’s prior use of Iranian territory from which to launch attacks in Syria,” the senators wrote. more