Washington, D.C. – Today, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce (R-CA), issued the following statement in response to Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks on Syria:

“Today we heard nothing new.  Secretary Kerry simply doubled down on the same approach that allowed for ISIS’s brutal rise.

“The bloody conflict in Syria, which has claimed more than a quarter million lives and driven 14 million from their homes, now poses direct threats to U.S. national security.  Yet the administration still has no overarching strategy to confront the ISIS terrorists based there.  This has allowed Vladimir Putin – sensing the vacuum of American leadership – to prop up the murderous Assad regime and further worsen the crisis.

“Syrians, our allies, and the American people want to see this administration put forward a real plan to defeat our terrorist enemies.  Until this White House steps up and actually starts leading, I don’t see anything changing for the better.”

Note: Last week, Chairman Royce held a hearing to examine U.S. policy in Syria, during which the Committee heard testimony from top administration officials covering Syria and Russia.  In testimony, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson acknowledged that roughly 90 percent of Russian airstrikes are hitting opposition forces backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia – rather than ISIS.

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