Rubio says potential collapse of Syrian transitional authority may be weeks away

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the Syrian transitional authority may be weeks away from potential collapse and full-scale civil war, defending U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to lift Syria sanctions and to engage with the Damascus government.

"It is our assessment that, frankly, the transitional authority, given the challenges they're facing, are maybe weeks, not many months, away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions, basically the country splitting up," Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.