US delegation to consider additional support for Syrian opposition

The Obama administration is sending a delegation to Jordan and Turkey this week to consider “ways the United States can provide additional support” to lessen the humanitarian crisis in and around Syria, the State Department said Tuesday.

The delegation is scheduled to meet with senior government and humanitarian officials as well as the Syrian Opposition Council during the week-long trip. It will include Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Anne Richard; USAID Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Nancy Lindborg; and Ambassador Robert Ford.

The United States has provided more than $210 million in humanitarian assistance to date, but is under growing pressure to intervene more forcefully in the 22-month-old uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad, which has left more than 60,000 people dead.

“While in Turkey, the delegation will meet with representatives from international humanitarian and non-governmental organizations to discuss assistance for Syrian refugees, as well as assistance being provided to those in Syria,” the State Department said in a statement. “They will also visit a Syrian refugee camp. In addition, the delegation will meet with Turkish government officials and members of the Syrian Opposition Coalition.

“In Jordan, the delegation will visit programs that support Syrian refugees living in local communities. They will also meet with representatives from the Government of Jordan and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.”

The trip comes after a bipartisan Senate delegation traveled to Egypt, Afghanistan, Jordan and Israel last week to discuss the Syrian crisis and other regional issues. The five senators — John McCain (R-Ariz.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) — are scheduled to make their findings public at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

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