Congress preparing new round of Syria sanctions
The House and Senate are ready to take on Russia's support for Damascus but differ on timing.
Congressional leaders in both chambers are ready to roll out new sanctions on Syria, Al-Monitor has learned.
Differences in how to counter the Bashar al-Assad regime's Russian patron, however, may cause delays despite widespread bipartisan support for forcing the Trump administration to get tough on Damascus.
The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs panel, Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said he is getting ready to reintroduce legislation that passed the House by voice vote in November. The bill was named after a dissident Syrian army photographer nicknamed "Caesar"; Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told Caesar in a Dec. 1 phone call that he would do his best to get the bill passed, according to a source who was briefed on the call.
The bill would slap financial and travel sanctions on foreign actors found to have supported the Syrian government or its military and intelligence services. Despite the Trump administration's appetite for a negotiated settlement, most lawmakers remain wary of Assad amid recent reports of mass hangings and chemical weapons attacks in Aleppo.
