US State Senator Travels to Syria, Lauds President Assad
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - An outspoken Republican state senator from Virginia has traveled to Syria and promised support for Syrian President Bashar Assad government.
Senator Richard Black's trip to a Middle Eastern country in the midst of a civil war and his comments in the face of official US foreign policy are highly unusual for a state lawmaker.
Black is a part-time state representative who has no role in official US foreign policy. Still, he has met with Assad government officials and said he would advocate for better relationships between Assad and the US, according to the Associated Press citing the official Syrian news agency.
"I will be Syria's voice," Black said, according to Syria's SANA.
The state senator sent a letter to Assad praising him in 2014. It was posted on the Syrian president's Facebook page.
Black is expected to meet with Assad during his visit.
Syria's conflict has killed more than 250,000 people, according to the United Nations, which stopped tracking casualties several months ago.
While US president has criticized Assad's leadership, Black has said Assad protected Christians and fought terrorist groups.
On his Twitter account, Black said he supported Assad because he is stemming the growth of the Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group.
"If Assad falls, ISIS will secure Syria and march on Europe," the tweet said.
Last year, Black said the Virginia Capitol Police alerted him to a threat against him by the Daesh for his support of Assad. The state senator was featured in a magazine published by Daesh.
Black posted a link on Twitter on Wednesday to an article written by an Iranian TV news agency, which quoted Black as saying the Syrian civil war would "come to an end if the US stops training terrorist in Jordan, Saudi Arabia" and other countries.
Black met with a Lebanese Christian politician allied with the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance group, which is fighting alongside Syrian army in Syria.
Black was named by GOP presidential hopeful US Sen. Ted Cruz as a co-chair for his campaign in Virginia. Black was also recently elected to be a Virginia delegate at the Republican National Committee's convention this summer.