US lawmakers call on Biden to refuse to reintegrate the Assad regime into the international community
US lawmakers stressed that “Tacit approval of formal diplomatic engagement with the Assad regime sets a dangerous precedent for authoritarians who seek to commit similar crimes against humanity,” .
The Congressmen Gregory Meeks, Michael McCaul, and Senators Bob Menendez and Jim Risch, sent a letter to US President Joe Biden, asking him to restore “American leadership” regarding the crisis in Syria, and to reject normalization processes with the Assad regime.
The letter called on Biden to “reject the reintegration of the Assad regime into the international community without meaningful reforms that demonstrate accountability and reflect the will of the Syrian people.”
The letter stated that ” they are concerned that a number of our Arab partners continue to increase their formal and informal relationships with the Assad regime, including the establishment of official diplomatic outposts and publicly released diplomatic overtures,”
The lawmakers urged the Biden administration to consider the consequences for any country seeking to normalize ties with the Assad regime, and to ensure that all countries were aware that normalization of the Assad regime and its return to the Arab League was unacceptable.”
They explained, “It is very important that US policy in Syria aligns with American values,” and noted Secretary Blinken’s promise that “when Joe Biden is president, we will restore the leadership of the United States on humanitarian issues.”
They noted, “While your administration has secured the renewal of the UN mandate for cross-border humanitarian aid delivery and expanded stabilization support in areas liberated from ISIS, these efforts address only the symptoms of the underlying conflict and will ultimately fail to resolve the perennial conflict in Syria and end the civil war there.
It is noteworthy that the United States had imposed sanctions on the Assad regime in 2020 under the “Caesar Act,” which imposes sanctions on anyone who cooperates with the Assad regime to rebuild Syria, as part of an effort to encourage accountability for human rights violations, and push for a political solution in Syria.
