Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told an audience of thousands of pro-Israel activists on Sunday morning that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been encouraged to invade the Crimea region of Ukraine partly because of the Obama administration’s weakness in responding to Syria’s crossing of the “red line” on chemical weapons.
Chris Coons blames ukraine in part on Obama dithering on Syria, gets #aipac14 applause
— Ron Kampeas (@kampeas) March 2, 2014
Coons, known primarily to conservative voters as the man who defeated Tea Party favorite Christine O’Donnell in 2010, has been a hawk on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Last August, he lent his support to efforts to authorize military action in Syria, adding an amendment to require consultation with Israel and other allies.
Coons was a featured speaker on a panel discussion near the start of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference.