| Date: 18/09/2012 Time: 10:49:00 PM |
British foreign secretary William Hague has said
it was important to apply pressure on Moscow to convince it to back tougher
action against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's regime.
Hague, at a meeting with the House of Commons foreign relations committee
Tuesday, said he would meet with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on
sidelines of UN General Assembly meetings next week to urge him play positive
role to find a political breakthrough for the Syrian conflict.
He warned that the situation in Syria has been dramatically deteriorating.
Hague said he was not calling for a military intervention in Syria, however
it was an option that could not be ruled out amidst escalation of conflict. He
said a military intervention could not happen but with the US support.
Hague said applying Chaprter VII of the UN Charter would make a big
difference towards the resolution of the Syrian conflict because it allowed
the use of all means to implement relevant UN resolutions, including military
ones.
Hague, who said the removal of the Syrian regime was a matter of time,
denied reports that Britain was secretly arming the Syrian opposition or gave
money to other country to arm them.
He said the British government was so far committed to providing logistical
assistance, like telecommunication equipment, for the opposition in addition
to the humanitarian aid. |