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US Secretary of State says Arab League ministers agree Assad’s alleged chemical weapons use crosses “global red line”. |
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| US Secretary of State John Kerry has continued a diplomatic offensive to win support for military action against Syria in response to an alleged chemical attack. After talks with Arab League ministers in Paris on Sunday, Kerry said they had agreed that Bashar al-Assad’s regime had crossed a “global red line” with the August 21 attack in the Damascus suburbs. “All of us agree, not one dissenter, that Assad’s deplorable use of chemical weapons… crosses an international global red line,” Kerry said. Kerry said a number of Arab countries were willing to sign a statement agreed by 12 countries of the G20 summit earlier this week that called for a reaction to the alleged attack and that they would make announcements in the next 24 hours. “Today we discussed the possible and necessary measures that can be taken,” he said. He said Saudi Arabia – which participated in the talks along with officials from the Arab League and eight other Arab countries – was among those who had signed on. “They have supported the strike and they have supported taking action,” Kerry said. However, in a joint news conference with the Qatari foreign minister, Kerry acknowledged that there can only be a political solution to Syria’s war, not a military one. Kerry also said that the US is considering a French suggestion of possibly bringing the Syria issue back to the UN Security Council after UN inspectors who investigated claims of chemical weapons use have finished their report. The Qatari Foreign Minister, Khalid Bin Mohammad Al Attiyah, said his government was, along with its allies, studying what the UN could do to protect the Syrian people. “We will have a joint statement regarding Syria,” Attiyah said. The US and France are trying to build an international coalition to launch military strikes against the Syrian regime and Kerry has insisted that international backing for strong action is growing, not receding. Iran warning Meanwhile, Iran’s new foreign minister said the US will ignite a fire across the Middle East if it attacks Syria, warning Western powers against warmongering. “We are concerned about warmongering in this region,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said on a visit to Iraq. “Those who are short-sighted and are beating the drums of war are starting a fire that will burn everyone.” Over the weekend, Kerry said the US had agreed to provide additional information to those ministers who were not yet convinced that Assad orchestrated the August 21 attack.
Kerry said the Obama administration is distributing videos of the attack to help convince Americans and Congress that a military intervention is needed. |
