This week’s G-20 conference was overshadowed by the crisis in Syria, with both advocates and opponents of action against the Bashar al-Assad regime seeking to press their case. President Barack Obama had entered the summit hoping to garner momentum in what has become a bruising political fight to gain Congressional authorization for retaliating against the regime’s use of chemical weapons.
More than half the countries attending the G-20 summit backed U.S. military action in Syria on Friday… International support is crucial for the administration to win over recalcitrant House members who are wary of the United States taking unilateral military action. Only France and Turkey are currently considering actually joining a U.S. strike. Obama played up the global backing for his proposed strikes during a press conference Friday.
An earlier draft of The Hill article had originally gone even further, headlining that the President had scored a “crucial diplomatic win.”
Meanwhile the Associated Press reported on France’s efforts to hasten the European Union’s decision-making regarding the August 21st chemical weapons attack on rebel-controlled suburbs of Damascus. Obama expressed appreciation for Paris’s support at the G-20 summit.
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