President Obama said in his Statement on Syria yesterday,
"Now, after careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should
take military action against Syrian regime targets. This would not be an
open-ended intervention. We would not put boots on the ground. Instead,
our action would be designed to be limited in duration and scope. ..."
"... I'm comfortable going forward without the approval of a United Nations
Security Council that, so far, has been completely paralyzed and unwilling
to hold Assad accountable. ..."
"I don't expect every nation to agree with the decision we have made. ..."
This made me wonder what the stances of other countries and international organizations were on President Obama's decision that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets without the approval of the United Nations Security Council.
This is the information I have collected.
- Those in green have stated that they will participate in such a military action.
- Those in red have stated that they will not participate in such a military action.
- Those in grey have not yet decided.
- Those whose stance is unknown are in white.
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday told media in Denmark that while he is convinced the Assad regime is behind chemical attacks in Syria and that there needs to be international reaction to the use of chemical weapons in Syria, NATO will not participate in the activity.
...
Rasmussen sees “no NATO role in an international reaction to the (Syrian) regime.” It would be up to each member state to participate in a response. NATO’s role, he said, is to safeguard the member Turkey, which is a neighbor of Syria and a NATO member.
http://stream.wsj.com/...
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The Arab League
On August 27th the Arab League issued a statement which condemned the Syrian regime but stopped short of calling for military action.
http://www.economist.com/...
Arab League diplomats told The Associated Press the organization will not support military action. They spoke anonymously because of rules preventing them from being named.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/...
Arab states on Sunday [September 1, 2013] urged the international community to take action against the Syrian government over a chemical gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians.
The final resolution passed by an Arab League meeting in Cairo urged the United Nations and international community to "take the deterrent and necessary measures against the culprits of this crime that the Syrian regime bears responsibility for."
...
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said condemnation of Syria over the poison gas attack, which U.S. officials say killed 1,429 people, was not enough.
http://www.cnbc.com/...
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Canada
Canada has no plans for a military intervention in Syria but supports its allies who are contemplating forceful action against that country’s regime, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday.
...
“Our government has been a very reluctant convert to the idea that there needs to be some western military action regarding the Syrian situation,” he told reporters at an event in Toronto on Thursday.
“At the present time the government of Canada has no plans, we have no plans of our own to have a Canadian military mission.”
http://www.thestar.com/...
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Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador and Venezuela
Officials in Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador and Venezuela have all expressed opposition to missile strikes by the U.S., while Argentina and Brazil have tacitly avoided any call for action against Damascus and instead lobbied for a peace settlement to the situation in Syria.
http://latino.foxnews.com/...
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Argentina and Brazil
Meanwhile, other Latin American and Caribbean members of the U.N., including Argentina and Brazil, said they would oppose military intervention without a Security Council debate.
...
“[We] hope to have conclusive results, transparent, objective and impartial shortly,” Argentina said in the statement from its Foreign Ministry. “Argentina, with Latin America, has been emphatic in defending the principle of foreign military intervention. [However], our country believes that foreign military operations would not do anything but aggravate the situation.”
Brazil, through its newly appointed foreign minister, said it has always opposed armed intervention without Security Council authorization.
“We will always consider it a violation of international law and of the U.N. Charter,” said Foreign Minister Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, the former U.N. ambassador.
http://www.miamiherald.com/...
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The United Kingdom
The British parliament on Thursday rejected military strikes as retaliation against President Bashar Assad for his alleged use of chemical weapons.
http://world.time.com/...
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France
... President François Hollande has embraced the idea of a military intervention, telling French ambassadors in Paris last Monday that he was “ready to punish” Assad, and saying in an interview on Friday with Le Monde newspaper that “the chemical massacre of Damascus cannot and must not remain unpunished.” Hollande said he envisaged “proportional and firm action.” No wonder U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry called France “our oldest ally” in his speech in Washington on Friday.
... the French president has the authority to send his military into battle without a parliamentary vote. While the French parliament has scheduled an emergency meeting on Syria on Wednesday, Hollande is unlikely to seek its approval before joining a U.S.-led mission.
... analysts believe Hollande cares less about public opinion about Syria, than his own miserable ratings, which hover around 20%. Despite widespread opposition to bombing Syria, some believe it could nonetheless help Hollande, as it would present him as being in close alliance with Obama in a crucial international conflict. “This operation is far less interesting to France as a country, than it is to Hollande,” says Jean Guisnel, who blogs about military issues for the French news magazine Le Point. “Here is an unpopular president who is accused of being too soft, of promising things and not delivering,” he told TIME. “And besides, it will cost him little. There are no troops on the ground.”
http://world.time.com/...
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Germany
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, told Mr. Obama in a phone call that any action should be addressed by the Security Council, Ms. Merkel's spokesman said. The two leaders agreed, however, that the Aug. 21 attack represented a "grave violation of international law," the spokesman said.
http://online.wsj.com/...
Germany on Friday ruled out participating in possible strikes against Syria over alleged deadly chemical weapons attacks.
"We have not considered it and we are not considering a military strike," government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters, adding that in any case, Berlin has not been asked to take part in any such military action.
http://news.yahoo.com/...
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Austria
VIENNA, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) - Representatives from Austria's main political parties unanimously spoke out against an immediate military intervention in Syria Wednesday, despite such a strike seeming increasingly likely.
Chancellor Werner Faymann warned against hasty military action without a United Nations (UN) mandate, he told the APA, and added all political and diplomatic avenues should be explored first, with the goal of a political solution.
In addition UN inspectors should be allowed to finish their work into looking at an alleged chemical weapons attack on August 21, which he said they would require more time for.
Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger also said he could not advocate a military intervention, which without a UN mandate would be "illegal and irresponsible."
http://www.china.org.cn/...
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Poland
Prime Minister Donald Tusk says that Poland "does not plan to participate in any kind of intervention in Syria."
As the U.S. and its allies appeared to be moving toward punitive military action, Tusk said Wednesday that Poland's government is not convinced that a strike would "stop the crimes."
Tusk added, "No one in the world today, including me, has the solution ready on how to break this chain of crime in Syria."
http://abcnews.go.com/...
“Poland will not participate in any type of military intervention in Syria,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday morning.
"I spoke with [Foreign Affairs Minister Radoslaw] Sikorski and asked him to tell our partners that Poland will not participation in any type of intervention in Syria,” Tusk said.
http://www.thenews.pl/...
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Denmark
Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt has been discussing the serious situation in Syria with heads of government in Britain, Turkey and France this afternoon according to Ritzau.
The content of the conversations have remained confidential, but the prime minister said earlier today that it may be time to consider alternatives to the United Nations Security Council, if the council itself was unable to act over Syria.
Although the Social Liberals, who are part of the current tripartite coalition have previously said that intervention in Syria without a UN mandate was ‘extremely dangerous’, the party now seems to have changed its mind.
“I completely agree with the prime minister’s evaluation. We are following the investigations about the poison gas attack very closely,” Party Leader Margrethe Vestager says.
http://politiken.dk/...
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) Denmark is ready to politically support a military strike against Syria even without authorization from the United Nations Security Council.
Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt says the Scandinavian country has told its "closest allies" that should the U.N. track fail, "Denmark is ready to consider alternative options."
Thorning-Schmidt said Thursday that Denmark had not been asked to make any military contribution.
In recent years, Denmark has backed military actions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Mali, and has even contributed troops and military hardware.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/...
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Italy
ROME (AP) — Italy insisted on Tuesday that any military strike against Syria for its alleged chemical attack on civilians must be authorized by the U.N. Security Council.
Briefing Parliament, Foreign Minister Emma Bonino called the chemical attack a "war crime" but said her government wouldn't support military action without U.N. Security Council authorization.
She said: "Italy would not actively take in any military action ... beyond the context of the Security Council, which for us is and remains the only point of legal reference that cannot be ignored."
http://bigstory.ap.org/...
In Italy, another consistent ally of military action involving NATO powers, the government has expressed unwillingness to participate in a strike, absent the blessing of the U.N. Security Council.
Italy's foreign minister, Emma Bonino, has asserted that a unilateral attack on Syrian soil conducted without the security council's approval would be neither "adequate nor positive." Former left-leaning prime minister Romano Prodi echoed that sentiment, saying "humiliating the UN" with a unilateral intervention would not bring any tangible result in the Syrian conflict.
But even with the council's assent, Italy's participation would "not be automatic" with the matter referred to the Italian Parliament, Bonino declared at a conference with foreign affairs commissioners.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
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Spain
In Spain, which has generally lent its support to military actions involving NATO powers, Syria has provoked both concern and ambivalence. Here, too, the memory of the Iraq war debacle remains fresh. In 2003 then-president Jose Maria Aznar supported that American-led effort, despite the opposition of Spanish society. The current president, Mariano Rajoy, also supported the war as a government minister.
But today Rajoy's government is besieged by domestic issues: high-profile corruption cases, an unending economic crisis and, more recently, a conflict with England over Gibraltar. Facing such internal turmoil, Spain has yet to decide whether to participate in the Syrian military strike currently under discussion.
"The attacks with chemical weapons in Syria require a firm response from the international community," asserted foreign affairs minister José Manuel García Margallo in a press release on Tuesday. The Spanish government expressed its confidence in the UN Security Council and requested that the organization make "decisions that ensure that international law is respected."
But neither Rajoy nor his foreign minister have openly made statements about any intervention organized apart from the UN, thanks to an absolute parliamentary majority that shields the administration from pressure to articulate a clear position. The closest thing to an official government declaration on the Syrian conflict has come from Carlos Floriano, the number three in Rajoy's ruling party.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
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Albania
Albanian Prime Minister-elect Edi Rama has expressed his support and the willingness of his government to help by any means the U.S. and its allies against the government in Damascus.
In a media appearance, Rama said that the new government will always be up to the allies who have always supported Albanians and will be on their side to respond to the extermination policy of chemical weapons.
“We will undoubtedly be alongside the U.S. military on every military battle front. Today we are one with them in the expression of revolt against the regime in Damascus. We fully agree that upon taking office in the new Parliament, we will be on the side of the Alliance to stand next to the Syrian people in this difficult moment for them. I’m confident that the Parliament will be unanimous,” Rama said.
The previous day, the outgoing Prime Minister Sali Berisha hailed the stance “of the U.S. and other allies against recent crimes against humanity committed through the use of chemical agents from the forces loyal to the president of Syria Bashar al-Assad“.
http://www.balkaninside.com/...
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Greece
Greek Prime Minister and New Democracy Conservative leader Antonis Samaras and his Deputy PM/Foreign Minister, PASOK Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos, said after a meeting that they would prefer a diplomatic solution to Syria’s ongoing civil war instead of a military strike by western powers.
But, they said they would also allow NATO to use its bases in Greece in case the decision is made to strike Syria via the air.
http://greece.greekreporter.com/...
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Cyprus
Cyprus, as a country of stability, peace and security in the region, stands ready to live up to its responsibility as a shelter, in case needed, in order to evacuate nationals of friendly countries from the Middle East. Cyprus would like to safeguard this capacity; to that end, we have been assured that the territory of Cyprus will not be used for military strikes.
http://www.moi.gov.cy/...
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Russia
MOSCOW – Russia dramatically escalated its denunciations of American threats to attack Syrian military targets on Saturday, with President Vladimir Putin saying it would have been “utter nonsense” for the Syrian government to use chemical weapons as the Obama administration alleges.
The Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued before President Obama said he would seek congressional authorization before ordering strikes on Syria, said a U.S. attack would be a “gross violation” of international law.
Speaking out for the first time since an apparent chemical weapons attack near Damascus on Aug. 21, Putin called on President Obama to find a nonviolent way out of the crisis.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
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China
BEIJING -- In what has become a predictable refrain from Beijing, the Chinese government Thursday warned the United States against conducting airstrikes against Syria.
All of the major Chinese news organizations railed against military action, saying Syria could turn into another Iraq. The Chinese also said they were not convinced that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government used chemical weapons against its own people, as asserted by the White House.
In a statement posted on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website, Foreign Minister Wang Yi implied that Beijing would exercise its veto power on a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force. The point is somewhat moot because Russia already has said it would block such a resolution.
"External military intervention is contrary to the U.N. charter aims and the basic norms governing international relations and could exacerbate instability in the Middle East," Wang said.
http://www.latimes.com/...
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India
New Delhi, Aug. 31: India cannot support military strikes against Syria without the approval of the United Nations Security Council, foreign minister Salman Khurshid said today, distancing New Delhi from strategic ally Washington in its clearest statement yet on the crisis in West Asia.
“I don’t think we can support any action that is not endorsed by the UN,” Khurshid said, when asked by The Telegraph for India’s position on potential missile strikes the US is mulling against Syria following allegations that Damascus used chemical weapons against its citizens.
Any attacks on Syria at this point could exacerbate the civil war in Syria and turbulence in West Asia, Khurshid suggested.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/...
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Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: With the threat of possible military action looming large over Syria, Pakistan on Thursday urged western powers to avoid the use of force to settle the conflict in the volatile middle-eastern state.
Expressing deep concern over the ongoing violence in Syria at his weekly news briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected.
“Pakistan has called on all sides to exercise restraint and engage in an inclusive political dialogue to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Syria in keeping with the democratic aspirations of the Syrian people,” he said.
Pakistan is currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, which will have a crucial role in authorising any punitive action against Syria. The spokesperson indicated that Pakistan might oppose any resolution seeking military action against Syria.
http://tribune.com.pk/...
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Jordan
"Jordan will not be a launching pad for any military action against Syria," said Information Minister Mohammad Momani.
http://www.cbsnews.com/...
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Lebanon
International punitive strikes against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime without a United Nations mandate will pose a "serious threat" to the security and stability across the Middle East, Lebanon's foreign minister said Thursday.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Adnan Mansour warned that a Western military strike would escalate tensions in Lebanon and may dramatically increase the number of Syrian refugees.
http://abcnews.go.com/...
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Turkey
The Turkish military will support the coalition forming against the Assad regime, accused of chemical weapons against civilians at a Damascus suburb. Six F-16s and ground based surveillance radars are ready to begin intelligence gathering over Syria, sources told SABAH.
Turkey already has necessary authorization from the parliament for using its forces abroad but the government may seek a broader mandate by drafting a new resolution on Syria.
Sources described Turkey's role as very similar to the one in Libya. Turkish military ships had rescued hundreds of wounded and brought them to Turkey for treatment and had patrolled the coast during the military operation.
It is learned that Turkish forces, NATO's second largest, will be used in conjunction with other allied armies. Turkish F16's will not carry out strikes but will gather intelligence. Turkey will also protect aerial surveillance planes, AWACS, which will have a very critical role on the deployment of the Syrian air force.
http://english.sabah.com.tr/...
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Iraq, Algeria and Tunisia
But influential League members, including Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon and Tunisia, have expressed opposition to foreign military intervention in Syria.
http://news.yahoo.com/...
Despite a strong call to action by the League, some Arab countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Algeria remain in oppostition of the final decision to call for foreign military action.
http://www.cbc.ca/...
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Iran
"Starting this fire will be like a spark in a large store of gunpowder, with unclear and unspecified outcomes and consequences," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranian Cabinet members in Tehran on Wednesday.
"The U.S. threats and possible intervention in Syria is a disaster for the region and if such an act is done, certainly, the Americans will sustain damage like when they interfered in Iraq and Afghanistan."
President Hassan Rouhani, also speaking to the Cabinet, said people in the Middle East and the world won't accept "a new war" and deplored threats to use force.
"Any adventurism in the region will pose irreparable dangers to the stability of the region and the world and will merely lead to the spread of extremism and terrorism in the region," Rouhani said.
http://edition.cnn.com/...
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Egypt
CAIRO: Egypt's foreign minister says his country strongly opposes military action against Syria and would not support possible punitive strikes by the United States and allies against the Syrian regime over alleged use of chemical weapons.
Nabil Fahmy says in a statement Thursday that Egypt condemns chemical weapons use by any side in Syria's civil war and is asking the international community to bring perpetrators to justice after a U.N. team investigating submits findings.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/...
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Australia
Australian troops won't be sent to Syria in the event of a military intervention by western forces, the foreign minister, Bob Carr, says.
http://www.theguardian.com/...
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bob Carr says the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons against its own people warrants a response from the international community, but says he does not think Australia will need to make a contribution to the United States' response to the crisis.
He says Australian intelligence figures have told him the evidence shows it is highly likely that the regime committed the attack against civilians and says Australia is prepared to support the Obama administration.
But Senator Carr says he does not anticipate Australia would making a military commitment.
http://www.abc.net.au/...
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If I get any more information about other countries I will add it.
* The Arab League updated *
* Poland added *
* Iraq, Algeria and Tunisia updated *
*Pakistan added *
* Albania added *
* Austria added *