US secretary of state John Kerry said today the United States did not rule out the possibility of returning to the United Nations Security Council to secure a resolution on Syria once UN inspectors complete their report.
Speaking at a news conference in Paris with his Qatari counterpart Khaled al-Attiya, Mr Kerry said president Barack Obama had yet to make a decision on the issue.
After meeting key Arab foreign ministers, Mr Kerry said they were leaning towards supporting a G20 statement - already signed by 12 countries - that called for a strong international response following an August 21st chemical attack in Syria.
Washington and Paris say forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad were behind the attack in which more than 1,400 are estimated to have been killed, and that he should be deterred from using such weapons again.
French president Francois Hollande, increasingly under pressure at home and among European partners to seek a UN mandate before any military intervention in Syria, yesterday suggested he could seek a resolution at the UN Security Council despite previous Russian and Chinese vetos.
“On President Hollande’s comments with respect to the UN, the president , and all of us, are listening carefully to all of our friends,” Mr Kerry said. “No decision has been made by the president.”
The meeting with Arab ministers, including from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, followed talks in Lithuania with European foreign ministers, who blamed the attack in Syria on Assad but refused to endorse military action.
“All of us agreed - not one dissenter - that Assad’s deplorable use of chemical weapons, which we know killed hundreds of innocent people... this crosses an international, global red line,” Mr Kerry said alongside his Qatari counterpart Khaled al-Attiya.
Meanwhile, the White House faced an uphill fight in Congress, where several prominent lawmakers said they have not been persuaded to approve strikes against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s forces. With a crucial test vote planned in the US senate on Wednesday, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough made the rounds of five Sunday talk shows to argue that a limited strike in response to Syrian government’s alleged use of chemical weapons would send a message of deterrence to regional foes. But Mike Rogers, Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a supporter of the strikes, said president Barack Obama had made “a hash” of his argument for military action to punish Mr Assad. “It’s very clear he’s lost support in the last week ... The president hasn’t made the case,” Mr Rogers said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Mr Obama’s plan faces significant resistance from Republicans and his fellow Democrats in Congress, with many lawmakers worried military strikes in Syria could lead to a prolonged US commitment there and spark broader conflicts in the region.
Reuters