Obama calling lawmakers from Russia to back Syria strike

President Obama is working the phones from the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia to convince skeptical lawmakers to support his call for a military strike on Syria, the White House said Thursday.

Deputy National Security Adviser Benjamin Rhodes told reporters in St. Petersburg that Obama would make calls to lawmakers during his two-day trip to Russia. He said a list of Obama's calls was forthcoming.

The effort comes as Obama is also pressing international leaders at the summit to unite behind military intervention against Syrian. But the foreign trip comes at a difficult time, with Congress engaged in a heated debate over a strike.

Obama has sought to leave his mark on the debate, telling reporters on Wednesday he was confident that Congress would back his stance to punish Syrian strongman Bashar Assad for using chemical weapons. The administration though risks embarrassment if lawmakers fail to fall in line behind the president.

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