US senate recommends studying Syria no-fly zone

The US Senate recommended that US President Barack Obama study the possibility of imposing the no-fly zone over Syria in an amendment approved on Wednesday, RIA Novosti reported.

The senators have voted 92-6 to require the Pentagon to report on options for using U.S. military assets to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from using air power against opposition forces.

"This amendment is simply a way of saying we in the Senate are concerned, care about the slaughter going on in Syria and agitated that those in the rest of the world are not doing more," Senator from Connecticut Joseph Lieberman said introducing the amendment.

The amendment gives Defense Secretary Leon Panetta 90 days after the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act to report back to the House and Senate defense committees what options the US has to try to contain the Syrian conflict.

The US administration earlier said it opposed the move. The White House said, however, that it was ready to study all options for ending the Syrian conflict.