France, Britain condemn Syria “massacre”, rule out interventionFebruary 17, 2012 - 19:50 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday, February 17 strongly condemned the Syrian regime for “butchering” its people, but ruled out military intervention, saying Syria was different from Libya, AFP reported. “What is happening in Syria is appalling. You have a government that is butchering and murdering its own people,” Cameron told a joint press conference with Sarkozy in Paris after a bilateral summit. But, he said, “We have to recognize there are different circumstances in Syria to those that applied in Libya.” When Western powers intervened in Libya, it was with the authorization of the United Nations, a call from the Arab League for action and a “clear opposition in Libya that worked on behalf of the whole country.” Those conditions did not exist in Syria, Cameron said. For Sarkozy, the main obstacle to a resolution of the conflict was “not blocking by such and such a country at the United Nations,” but the failure of the Syrian opposition to mobilize the population against the regime. Sarkozy said: “We couldn't have had a revolution in Libya without the Libyans. We can't have a revolution in Syria ... unless the current opposition in Syria makes the effort of organizing and unifying (the people) so that we can support them more.” “We're ready to do more but we're saying, to all those who want democracy: Get organized, unify and tell us how we can help and we will help more,” he added. Britain and France were working to strengthen the new contact group on Syria, which will meet next week in Tunisia, and were also working “very closely” with the Syrian opposition, said Cameron. He also announced that the British government was sending food rations to Syria, to help feed 20,000 people. “Is that enough? No, it isn't,” he said, agreeing that more had to be done to “get rid” of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |