Secretary of State John Kerry and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius hold news conference, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paris, Sept. 7, 2013.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says international support is growing for holding the Syrian government responsible for its alleged chemical weapons attack.
"This is growing, not receding, in terms of the global sense of outrage of what’s happened.”
He commented during a Saturday news conference, in Paris, with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
Earlier in the day, Kerry met with European foreign ministers in Lithuania in a bid to strengthen support, as the U.S. considers a possible military strike against Syria.
After the meeting, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton read a statement for the group that called for a "clear and strong response" to the attack in Syria but stopped short of specifying military action.
Ashton also said the EU wants Syria＇s crisis to be addressed by the United Nations. She said any further action against Damascus should be delayed until a U.N. chemical weapons team presents its findings.
In Paris, Kerry said the European leaders had made a "powerful statement" even though some countries still did not believe in military action.
He also said President Barack Obama had not made a decision on waiting on the report from the U.N. team.
Meanwhile, Obama, in his weekly radio address, said failing to respond to what he called Syria＇s "outrageous attack" would increase a risk of further chemical weapons attacks.
In the address, broadcast on Saturday, he also said the Syrian government＇s alleged use of chemical weapons was a "direct attack on human dignity" and a threat to national security. |
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