WASHINGTON — A senior State Department official says the failure of a cease-fire in Syria poses serious consequences for Moscow and gives the United States leverage.
During a congressional hearing Thursday, Antony Blinken says if the civil war in Syria escalates, Russia may become stuck in a quagmire and also will be seen as complicit with Syrian President Bashar Assad in the slaughter of Sunni Muslims.
Blinken is deputy secretary of state. He testified before the Republican-led Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He says Russia can’t win if the civil war in Syria escalates.
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the committee’s chairman, pressed Blinken for a Plan B in Syria after the truce brokered between the U.S. and Moscow collapsed about 10 days ago.
Blinken says the Obama administration is reviewing options.
