20 February 2017, 13:41 GMT
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US President Donald Trump can unilaterally green-light the use of ground troops in Syria without coming to Congress, Kinzinger added.
"I would like to see long-term humanitarian safe zones, a no-fly zone enforced by the United States and its allies, and then ultimately there will need to be a ground force," Kinzinger told MSNBC. "But it does not need to be American troops, because the Middle East partners — and they said it — are willing to do it."
The lawmaker stated that peaceful negotiations can be a solution to Syrian conflict, but "[Syrian President Bashar] Assad has to know that the alternative is — he may die."
The comments came two days after a reported chemical attack in Syrian Idlib province killed an estimated 80 people, including dozens of children.
