The Trump administration will begin allowing US diplomats based in Turkey to work with local officials in Damascus to make determinations about what kind of aid they need, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday, before delivering a grim warning that the interim Syrian government was on the verge of collapse.

“We want to help that government succeed, because the alternative is full-scale civil war and chaos, which would, of course, destabilize the entire region,” Rubio told lawmakers.

Testifying in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio said the US would begin allowing US diplomats based in Turkey to travel to the Syrian capital to discuss what was needed from the US. “Is it humanitarian? Is it improving law enforcement or governance functions? We think it’s going to be the first test of this new model,” Rubio said.

Turning to the Syrian government itself, Rubio warned that the Sharaa government was facing massive challenges. Due to this, he said the US assesses the government is “maybe weeks, not many months, away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions, basically the country splitting up.”

However, Rubio highlighted that Syria is one of the few places in the Middle East where various religions have lived side-by-side for decades.

“So, the combination, if you think about in region, let’s say two years from now, where Syria and Lebanon are stable, that opens up incredible opportunities around the region for all kinds of peace and security and the end of conflicts and wars,” he said, adding that it was “obviously a big task.”