PARIS — Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that Saudi Arabia had agreed to support military intervention in Syria.
[h=6]Pool photo by Susan Walsh[/h]Secretary of State John Kerry, right, with Arab League foreign ministers in Paris on Sunday, including the Saudi foreign minister, Saud al-Faisal, second from right.
At a news conference on the sidebar of a meeting with Arab League foreign ministers, Mr. Kerry noted that he had received Saudi assurances of support for what he called “the strike.”
Qatar’s foreign minister, Khalid Al Attiya, who joined Mr. Kerry at the news conference, stopped short of explicitly endorsing a military strike but said his nation would back foreign intervention.
Mr. Attiya said supporters of the President Bashar al-Assad of Syria had already intervened in the conflict, an allusion to Iran and Hezbollah. He called on “all countries to intervene to protect the Syrian people” and said that Qatar was looking at what it could provide to help safeguard the Syrian population.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar were among the first backers of the Syrian opposition that is fighting Mr. Assad and provided weapons for the rebels.
Mr. Kerry has been at the forefront of the Obama administration’s efforts to build international support for airstrikes against the Syrian government in the wake of a suspected chemical attacks on Aug. 21 that killed hundreds of people in the suburbs of Damascus.
A statement calling for a strong international response, one that held Mr. Assad responsible for the chemical attack, has been signed by more than a dozen nations, including the United States. The statement does not explicitly endorse military action.
Mr. Kerry said that he expected additional nations to sign in the next 24 hours and noted that he planned to brief lawmakers after he returned to Washington on Monday.
[h=6]Pool photo by Susan Walsh[/h]Secretary of State John Kerry, right, with Arab League foreign ministers in Paris on Sunday, including the Saudi foreign minister, Saud al-Faisal, second from right.
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At a news conference on the sidebar of a meeting with Arab League foreign ministers, Mr. Kerry noted that he had received Saudi assurances of support for what he called “the strike.”
Qatar’s foreign minister, Khalid Al Attiya, who joined Mr. Kerry at the news conference, stopped short of explicitly endorsing a military strike but said his nation would back foreign intervention.
Mr. Attiya said supporters of the President Bashar al-Assad of Syria had already intervened in the conflict, an allusion to Iran and Hezbollah. He called on “all countries to intervene to protect the Syrian people” and said that Qatar was looking at what it could provide to help safeguard the Syrian population.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar were among the first backers of the Syrian opposition that is fighting Mr. Assad and provided weapons for the rebels.
Mr. Kerry has been at the forefront of the Obama administration’s efforts to build international support for airstrikes against the Syrian government in the wake of a suspected chemical attacks on Aug. 21 that killed hundreds of people in the suburbs of Damascus.
A statement calling for a strong international response, one that held Mr. Assad responsible for the chemical attack, has been signed by more than a dozen nations, including the United States. The statement does not explicitly endorse military action.
Mr. Kerry said that he expected additional nations to sign in the next 24 hours and noted that he planned to brief lawmakers after he returned to Washington on Monday.