Virginia senator, in Damascus, voices support for Al Assad
US officials have repeatedly said Al Assad has lost the legitimacy to rule
Beirut: An American state senator who is visiting the Syrian capital says the United States should show more support for Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
Speaking to reporters in Damascus Thursday, Virginia State Senator Dick Black said that it would be “beneficial” for the US to speak directly to Al Assad.
He is in Damascus to visit the embattled Syrian president’s administration. Black, an outspoken Republican, is a part-time state senator who has no role in official US foreign policy.
US officials have repeatedly said Al Assad has lost the legitimacy to rule.
Syria’s five year civil war, which began in 2011 as an uprising against Al Assad, has killed more than 250,000 people according to the UN, which stopped counting casualties two years ago.
