On Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union.” During the segment, host Jake Tapper asked Haley what the Trump administration plans to do to help Syria rebuild as it simultaneously caps the number of refugees admitted to the United States:
TAPPER: Ambassador, let’s take Syria for instance, [and] what you’re talking about here in terms of the priority being to get the refugees back home. In August, the Trump administration cut more than $200 million that it was providing for stabilization assistance to reconstruct and rebuild Syria. How does that help refugees return to their homes in Syria at the same time the United States is cutting the number of refugees that we’re admitting here at home?
HALEY: Jake, we have made it very clear. We are not gonna pay for reconstruction of Syria as long as there’s Iranian influence there. We’re not gonna pay for reconstruction as long as ISIS has not been defeated – which we’re almost there. We’re not gonna pay for reconstruction to help Russia out when this is their problem.
What we’re saying is, there’s a lot of things that have to happen before reconstruction is even talked about, and it’s not just gonna be the U.S. Other countries have to weigh in. But right now, you’ve got a very sensitive situation in Syria, and Russia has to step up. They took responsibility for this; they’ve got to manage it. They can’t sit there and do whatever they want, allowing the Iranians to continue to have influence when they’re the biggest sponsor of terrorism, and then turn around and have their hand out [and] asking us for money in return.
Here’s the entire video (pertinent portion begins at the 8:12 mark):
