Sen. Rand Paul Wednesday praised President Donald Trump for the "extraordinary breakthrough" reached in Syria and said the actions taken could lead to peace in the region for the first time in years.
"The president is to be complimented," the Kentucky Republican told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" after Trump's remarks. "What a great statesman-like speech ... by allowing this to occur we have a realignment in Turkey, in Syria, that may lead to peace for the first time in eight years."
Paul said the next step is to defeat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's resolution, which calls for Trump to reconsider his actions on Syria and to rescind his invitation to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit the White House.
On Tuesday, Paul blocked a vote on a measure to formally oppose Trump's strategy for Syria, marking the second time he has taken action against a companion bill for a bipartisan resolution that had already passed in the House.
"I think we need to see the world as it is and it's important the president meet with Erdogan," said Paul on Wednesday. "The conversations so far are leading towards peace."
Trump said during his speech that if Turkey fails to meet its obligations, the United States can reimpose sanctions. Paul said he thinks Erdogan must prove trustworthy.
"I think trust has to be verified and it's verified over time," said Paul. "A permanent cease-fire sounds great and I appreciate the president negotiating this. We'll see over time. The way you treat people depends on behavior. It is very important we do not slap sanctions on Turkey that never go away."
Turkey did not follow through with a further incursion into Syria, he added, and there is a possibility that many Kurdish lives were saved by Trump's action, which also moved 50 U.S. troops out of the way.
"I think there is also the possibility for the Kurds to negotiate a semi-autonomous region where they would share in oil receipts with the Assad government," said Paul. "It is a big day."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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