SHAHEEN WELCOMES DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGH IN SYRIA
Shaheen Also Renews Call for Congress to Pass Her Legislation Addressing Threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East
(Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) released the following statement after the United States and Russia reached a framework for an agreement to seize Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile:
“Syria’s use of chemical weapons is a serious threat to our national security and the elimination of their weapons stockpile is in our best interests. The agreement with Russian officials to accomplish this goal is a welcome development and Secretary Kerry should be commended for his efforts. Now, Russia and Syria must take immediate and concrete steps to abide by the terms of this agreement.
“The fact is that it was the credible threat of force that helped push Russia to the negotiating table to strike this deal. But moving forward we must renew our focus on our nonproliferation efforts in the Middle East and northern Africa. We should start by considering my legislation, Middle East Cooperative Threat Reduction, which aims to address the threat of chemical and biological weapons in this region. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction present one of the gravest international dangers our country can face and we must provide the resources and focus to address this potential threat for the future."
