London Rules Out Western Troops for Syria, Berlin Hails Arab League Role
Britain on Monday said Western nations were unlikely to join a U.N.-Arab peacekeeping force proposed by the Arab League to end the violence in Syria, as Germany welcomed the Arab League's "important" role and Italy backed the Arab suggestion.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague called for urgent talks on the League’s, but said Western nations were unlikely to join the force.
"I don't see the way forward in Syria as being Western boots on the ground, in any form, including in peacekeeping form," he told a news conference during a visit to South Africa.
"But of course if such a concept could be made viable we will be supporting it in all the usual ways."
He added that success depended on a "credible ceasefire" being established and an end to President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on civilians.
"Of course for peacekeepers to operate successfully, there must be a peace to keep. So far it has not been possible to secure that," he said.
The Arab League made the call for U.N. peacekeepers at a meeting in Cairo on Sunday, and also endorsed a "Friends of Syria" group, which will meet in Tunisia next week.
"We will discuss urgently with them the proposals for a joint Arab League-United Nations peacekeeping force," Hague said.
"Such a mission could have a very important role to play in saving lives, provided of course there was an end to violence against civilians, forces were withdrawn from towns and cities and a credible ceasefire was established so that monitors and peacekeepers could then play a useful role."
In a statement issued earlier from London, Hague said Britain would play a "very active part" in the Friends of Syria group, which has similarities to the Libya contact group formed by international partners against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
The Arab League said in a statement after the Cairo meeting that it would "ask the U.N. Security Council to issue a decision on the formation of a joint U.N.-Arab peacekeeping force to oversee the implementation of a ceasefire."
It said diplomats from the league would also open contacts with the Syrian opposition and give them financial and political support against Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Hague said the Arab League had taken "significant steps to increase the diplomatic and economic isolation of the Syrian regime".
"The Arab League could not have sent a clearer message to Syria than the one it sent yesterday and we look forward to working closely with them in the coming days and weeks," Hague said.
For its part, Germany welcomed on Monday the Arab League's "important" role in helping end the violence in Syria, a day ahead of a visit by its chief to Berlin.
"The active and leading role of the Arab League is important to settle the Syrian crisis," foreign ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke told reporters.
Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle believes the clear condemnation of violence and steps against the Syrian regime eyed by the Arab League send "a strong sign" to the Syrian people, he said.
"That goes both for the political as well as the economic measures which the Arab League is contemplating," Peschke told a regular news briefing.
"In the foreign minister's view, the proposal for a joint U.N.-Arab League mission is a proposal which should now be examined as quickly as possible at the U.N. Security Council," he added.
Germany also supports the call by the Arab League for full and free access in Syria for humanitarian aid, he added.
Arab League secretary general Nabil al-Arabi is due in Berlin on Tuesday to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Germany last week said it was expelling four diplomats from the Syrian embassy in Berlin after the arrest of two men suspected of spying on regime opponents.
Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said Monday his country supports the deployment of peacekeepers in Syria.
"Italy shares the urgency to stop every type of violence in Syria and, to that end, supports the proposal to send a joint United Nations and Arab League peacekeeping mission to check that the cease-fire is carried out," he said.
"We hope for as large a consensus as possible from the international community," Terzi said.
"Italy continues to strongly support the Arab League's efforts to find a peaceful and democratic solution to the Syrian crisis" and "welcomes the outcome of the foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo yesterday," he added.
Terzi stressed "Italy and the Arab League's shared views on the need to assure the Syrian opposition strong political support."
"Encouraging the links between, and the unification of, the various elements is an absolute priority in order for a Syrian political process backed with the support of the international community to begin," he said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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