SOUTH AFRICA: British Foreign Secretary William Hague says any peacekeeping troops in Syria should come from non-Western countries and only once there is peace on the ground

Record ID: 280599

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: British Foreign Secretary William Hague says any peacekeeping troops in Syria should come from non-Western countries and only once there is peace on the ground
  • Date: 14th February 2012
  • Summary: CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (FEBRUARY 13, 2012) (REUTERS) PRESS CONFERENCE WITH U.K. FOREIGN SECRETARY WILLIAM HAGUE. (SOUNDBITE) (English), BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY WILLIAM HAGUE SAYING: "There has to be a peace to keep, that means that in order for such an idea to work we will have to see in practice what President Assad told the Arab League he will do back on the 2nd of
  • Embargoed: 29th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa, South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3N1DK1R45Q6WXQ5MQSZYQ02OQ
  • Story Text: Speaking in Cape Town during an official tour of South Africa, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Monday (February 13) he does not see western boots on the ground as the way forward to halt the Syrian government's violent crackdown on opposition groups.
    But the UK would support a peace keeping force, he added, should it be considered a viable option.
    "I don't see the way forward in Syria as being Western boots on the ground in any form, including in any peacekeeping form. I think they would need to come from other countries, rather than Western nations," he told reporters at a news conference. "Of course, if such a concept can be made viable, we will be supporting it in all the usual ways," he said.
    Hague spoke as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow Russia was studying an Arab-UN proposal to send a peacekeeping mission to Syria adding that he wants more details and that violence should end before any such mission takes place.
    Lavrov said the fundamental idea of a peacekeeping mission required "peace first", which the peacekeepers would work to uphold. But he suggested opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were not ready to halt violence and that the current situation lacked any kind of mechanism for bringing about a temporary peace.
    Hague echoed Lavrov's words saying peace keepers could only set foot in Syria if there is "a peace to keep" adding that more details could be hammered out at the forthcoming meeting on Syria in Tunisia.
    "There has to be a peace to keep, and that means that in order for such an idea to work we would have to see in practice what President Assad told the Arab League he would do back on the 2nd of November, which is to pull his forces back from towns and cities and to end violence against civilians. So far, it has not been possible to secure that. So that is why I say it is something we will need to discuss further with the Arab League, how they see this working in practice. No doubt, it can certainly be discussed at the Group of Friends of Syria which is being convened in Tunisia next week," Hague said.
    Syrian forces resumed their bombardment of the city of Homs on Monday after Arab countries called for U.N. peacekeepers and pledged their firm support for the opposition battling President Bashar al-Assad.
    The assault on Homs has spurred Arab countries to ostracise Assad and promise tougher action. At a meeting in Cairo on Sunday, Arab League foreign ministers pledged for the first time to aid the opposition battling to overthrow Assad, from Syria's Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that has dominated the country since Alawite officers expanded their influence in the military and took power five decades ago. The League also called on the U.N. Security Council to authorise a peacekeeping force, a challenge to Russia and China which have so far used their veto power to block action by the world body, most recently on Feb 4.
    China's Foreign Ministry on Monday backed Arab League mediation in Syria but offered no clear sign of support for the league's call to send in peacekeepers to halt the Syrian government's crackdown on opposition groups.
    Moscow -- long a staunch ally of the Syrian government which is an arms client and hosts a Russian naval base -- and Beijing have used their veto to block United nation Security Council resolutions on Syria, provoking sharp criticism from Western powers this month.
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