U.S. and U.K. consider new sanctions on Russia over Syria – a move which will only heighten tensions with the West

October 2016 – WASHINGTON/MOSCOW – U. S. and U. K. leaders on Sunday threatened Russia with sanctions and other measures to pressure it to change course on Syria, saying the onus is on Russia to help bring an end to violence in the more than five-year-long conflict there. Secretary of State John Kerry and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson didn’t rule out military action in Syria’s civil war but came close, emphasizing there is little appetite in Europe or the West for it. For now they suggested that diplomatic talks would continue for the foreseeable future to end fighting that has killed more than 400,000.
‘I think the most powerful weapon we have at the moment is our ability to make President Putin and the Russians feel the consequences of what they are doing,’ Mr. Johnson said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin after a meeting of ‘like-minded’ European and Gulf Arab countries on the Syria conflict. ‘They’re starting to feel the pressure and it is vital that we keep that pressure up, and there are a lot of measures that we’re proposing to do with extra sanctions on the Syrian regime and their supporters, measures to bring those responsible for war crimes before the international criminal court,’ Mr. Johnson said.

This post was published at UtopiatheCollapse on October 17, 2016.