PRESS RELEASE

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Former NATO Commander Recommends Trump and Putin Seek Diplomatic Solution to Syria Conflict

July 3, 2017 (EIRNS)—In a July 2 interview on "The Cat’s Roundtable" show on New York’s AM 970 radio, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Adm. (ret.) James Stavridis recommended that President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, discuss a diplomatic solution for the Syrian conflict, when they meet on the sidelines of the July 7-8 G20 summit in Hamburg. Stavridis has often voiced provocative policies towards Russia, making his latest remarks all the more notable.

"We ought to be exploring with President Putin how we can cooperate to end this terrible war in Syria," Stavridis said. "This can’t be resolved on the battlefield," he said, but instead "will require a diplomatic resolution, and only the United States and Russia working together can resolve it."

Stavridis also noted that because of strong support from Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "is not going anywhere, so rather than end up in a situation where another 500,000 people die, I think it is time to have a political accommodation."

The former NATO commander also recommended that Trump take on the issue of Russia’s "meddling" in last year’s U.S. Presidential elections.