Rubio warns Syria’s government could collapse in weeks, triggering civil war
The top US diplomat made the case for sanctions relief and renewed engagement with the transitional government in Damascus to prevent "full-scale civil war."
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Tuesday that without robust US engagement, Syria’s government could collapse within weeks, potentially triggering a civil war of “epic proportions."
Rubio spoke a week after President Donald Trump met with Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and announced he would be lifting sanctions on Syria in a major reversal of US policy.
The United States has assessed that Syria’s transitional authority is "maybe weeks, not many months, away from potential collapse,” Rubio told a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Were Sharaa’s government to fall, it would ignite “full scale civil war of epic proportions … basically the country splitting up,” he added.
