WASHINGTON - After speaking on the phone with a senior representative of the Syrian opposition, U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made the following statement about diplomatic negotiations over the conflict in Syria.
“Today I heard from Dr. Riyad Hijab, a senior representative of the Syrian opposition," said Corker. “As we know, the Assad regime- along with their Russian backers- continues to besiege cities, target civilians from the air and use starvation as a tactic of war against its own people, so I can understand the tremendous frustration I heard today from the Syrian opposition. They believe the context of the negotiations for a Syrian peace process has now shifted from what was originally passed in a recent UN Security Council Resolution. A process that prematurely forces the Syrian opposition to the table without taking into consideration their concerns- such as humanitarian access and the release of women and children wrongly imprisoned in Syria - will not produce the desired outcome."
