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McCain calls for establishing no-fly zone over Syria

US Senators John McCain and Ron Johnson speaking at the press conference
US Senators John McCain and Ron Johnson speaking at the press conference
BRUSSELS, March 25 (KUNA) -- John McCain, member of the U.S. Senate, described Saturday the American policy in Syria as an "abject failure" and called for the establishment of a no-fly zone over the troubled nation.
"I see a dismal failure. I see 420,000 people dead and six million refugees. I see a former President of the United States once committed that we will take action if (President) Bashar Al Assad crossed red line. We didn't," he told a news conference at sidelines of the Brussels Forum.
"I see Russian aircraft with precision weapons striking hospitals. I see an humanitarian disaster the largest since World War II. I see an abject failure of American and our allied leadership," he said in reply to a question by Kuwait News agency (KUNA), related with developments in Syria.
"I still believe we can establish a no-fly zone, arm the Free Syrian Army and we could roll back Bashar Al Assad who is being backed by Hezbollah and Russia. This is a disaster in every sense of the world," he said and added that the new US Administration is preparing a new strategy in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
McCain stressed that the IS has failed in its mission of terror In response to a reply to a question by a journalist on Iran's nuclear deal, McCain said "we hear different messages from the administration. I think there is a very appropriate review of Iranian behavior and whether they have been in compliance with the nuclear agreement." There are sources that say they have violated that agreement, he noted.
On his part, speaking at the same news conference, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson said "we have to make sure that they are not cheating. We all need to push back on Iran's aggression in the Middle East." Organized by the German Marshall Fund think tank, the Brussels Forum is an annual high-level meeting of the most influential North American and European political, corporate, and intellectual leaders to address pressing challenges currently facing both sides of the Atlantic. (end) nk.rk