Syria: John Kerry visits London to discuss military intervention

 
Staff|Agency9 September 2013

The US push to secure support for military intervention in Syria ramped up today as secretary of state John Kerry arrived in London for talks with foregin secretary William Hague.

Mr Kerry is on a whirlwind diplomatic push in Europe as Barack Obama prepares to mount a concentrated attempt to persuade a sceptical Congress to back him.

The president will take to the airwaves ahead of a nationally-televised address tomorrow, the eve of the first Senate vote on a "limited and specific" intervention by US forces.

Surveys suggest he faces a steep uphill battle to win Congressional approval for any armed response to the deadly August 21 chemical weapons attack in the outskirts of Damascus.

Mr Kerry flew into London from Paris where he claimed the support of "a number" of Arab League nations for a "strong international response" following talks in the French capital.

"All of us agreed, with not one dissenter, that Assad's deplorable use of chemical weapons, which we know killed hundreds of innocent people, including at least 426 children, on this occasion, this one occasion, crosses an international, a global red line," he said.

"What the United States is seeking - not alone but with others, an increasing number - is to enforce the standard with respect to the use of chemical weapons.

"We are not seeking to become engaged in or party to or take over Syria's civil war."

European Union foreign ministers at the weekend also backed the need for a "clear and strong response" to the use of chemical weapons after hearing from him.

But in a joint statement member states stopped short of endorsing any US-led strike, stressing "the need to move forward with addressing the Syrian crisis through the UN process".

French president Francois Hollande, the most vocal supporter of military action outside Washington, has said he will await the findings of UN weapons inspectors before deciding whether to act.

Mr Kerry opened his Paris press conference in French as he kept up efforts to woo the White House's principle ally following the shock Commons vote ruling out any UK involvement.

Mr Hague admitted the Americans were "disappointed" by David Cameron's failure to secure the backing of MPs but were remained "very committed to what we call the special relationship".

The Prime Minister has ruled out bringing back the issue to parliament but faces pressure from some quarters to do so if there is a significant change in the circumstances.

Mr Hague said it would be "alarming" if the UK vote was repeated in the US and elsewhere.

The risks of the world failing to respond "are greater than the risks of doing so in a limited, proportionate and careful way", he told the BBC.

"If it is decided in the various parliaments of the world that no one will stand up to the use of chemical weapons and take any action about that, that will be a very alarming moment in the affairs of the world."

The visit came amid calls for an arms watchdog to examine why a chemical that can be used to make the deadly sarin nerve agent was sold by UK firms to Syria with Government permission.

Supplies of sodium fluoride were exported between 2004 and 2010, during the build-up to the brutal civil war when experts believe Bashar Assad was stockpiling chemical weapons.

The substance is an ingredient of sarin, which UK experts have established was used in the August 21 attack, in which the US says 1,429 people died.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said there was "no evidence" the chemicals - which it licensed for export for use in cosmetics and healthcare - were diverted to weapons programmes.

"These licence applications, which predate the current conflict and EU sanctions, were rigorously assessed and determined to be for legitimate commercial use," a spokesman said.

But the fact that such products were allowed to be exported at all has raised concerns and led to a call for an investigation by the House of Commons Committee on Arms Export Controls (CAEC)

Tory MP Richard Ottaway, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said: "Any sensible person would be concerned if an ingredient of sarin gas was exported from the UK to Syria.

"I think this is something for the committee."

Labour's Thomas Docherty, a member of the CAEC, said the "disturbing" revelations raised very serious questions.

"While the last export licence was issued in May 2010, these licences are obtained prior to manufacture and the industry standard is for four to five months to pass before the chemicals are delivered.

"So, we are looking at late 2010 for the British supplies of sodium fluoride reaching Syria. The Government has some very serious questions to answer," the MP said.

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