Putin: US Congress considers authorization of aggression against Syria

President Vladimir Putin said U.S. Congress was considering the possibility of authorizing aggression against Syria and said this was “absolutely unacceptable.” “We have focused on the fact that Congress and Senate are discussing the question of using force. But this is a downright substitution of common sense,” Putin said at a meeting of the Human Rights Council on Wednesday, September 4. “According to international law, no congress in any country can authorize such actions. What are they authorizing? They are authorizing aggression because anything that is outside the UN Security Council is aggression.” The president noted that this would not be aggression if it were a question of self-defense. “But Syria is not attacking the United States, as we all know, so this is not a question of self-defense,” Putin said. He believes that the American parliamentarians “are basically trying to legitimize aggression.” “And we all have got glued to the TV screens waiting whether they will say yes or no. But there is something else to talk about, namely that this is unacceptable in principle,” Putin said.