Pentagon chief Leon Panetta recently said the United States Armed Forces will be able to participate in any military operation in Syria only having a relevant United Nations Security Council resolution.
US Secretary of Defence also said that he sees his task is to make American troops carrying out such missions abroad always enjoy support of the international community.
It is noteworthy that earlier the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, stated that in case of failure of the plan on Syria of the UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, and a clearage in the UN Security Council, the world community will have to avoid the Security Council. She stressed that it is the worst case scenario, but now it looks more likely.
But Panetta has deflated the words of Rice, noting that he could not imagine such a scenario.
However, ultimately a decision on what steps to take will be taken by the international community and President of the United States, he added.
According to the minister, at the Pentagon, there are also action plans in any developments.
Earlier, the US ambassador to Nato, Ivo Daalder, said that the Alliance does not consider the possibility of military intervention in Syria.
According to him, there were prerequisites for making a decision to conduct operations against Libya; whereas the invasion of Syria is not considered among the ways to resolve the situation.
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The words of the US ambassador to Nato were also confirmed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said that foreign military intervention in Syria will be possible only if there is a broad consensus on this issue.
According to her, consent to the conduct of a military operation must be obtained not only from US allies in the world, but also from the countries that are not supporting Bashar al-Assad’s regime, ie, Russia and China. At the same time the Secretary of State cited the Libyan scenario as an example where the absence of objections from China and Russia made it possible to conduct a military operation.
It is worth recalling that France and Belgium have recently openly started to talk about the possibility of military intervention in Syria. According to the officials of the two countries, for that end it is necessary to enlist the support of the international community and the UN.
French President François Hollande said that the end to the Syrian crisis can be achieved by a military intervention. The corresponding solution, he said, must be co-ordinated with international partners. The military intervention is not ruled out if it is carried out under the auspices of international law, namely, through the Security Council resolutions, said Hollande.
Belgian Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem said military intervention in the affairs of Syria is possible provided that Belgium is asked to do it and that it is involved in the military operation in an international format. However, it has remained unclear who should ask Belgium for such intervention.
If Belgium is addressed and the government considers it necessary, we can do so, said De Crem.
De Crem noted that the country alone will not take such an initiative. Also, any independent operation of a small group of countries is out of the question.
According to him, the support of the international community and the UN is needed.
