BELGIUM: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can not confirm comments by the Israeli military's top intelligence analyst that Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons

Record ID: 860706

  • Title: BELGIUM: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can not confirm comments by the Israeli military's top intelligence analyst that Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons
  • Date: 23rd April 2013
  • Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (APRIL 23, 2013) (REUTERS) CAMERAMEN FILMING KERRY'S NEWS CONFERENCE REPORTERS
  • Embargoed: 8th May 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • City:
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA50RLT7HLP8L1WIZQULPSY3NJQ
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday (April 23) said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could not confirm comments by the Israeli military's top intelligence analyst that Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons.
    Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli military's top intelligence analyst Brigadier-General Itai Brun at a Tel Aviv security conference said that Syrian forces had used chemical weapons, probably nerve gas, in their fight against rebels.

    "I talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning from here, I think it's fair for me to say that he was not in a position to confirm that in the conversation that I had, and so it's up to him and their process as to when and how they do that, not for me to make any other announcements except to say to you that I don't know yet what the facts are and I don't think anybody knows what they are and I'm sure you've heard the old saying 'don't always believe what you read in the newspapers," Kerry told a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

    "I just think that the information that I have at this point does not confirm it to me in a way that I would be comfortable commenting on it as a fact, but obviously whatever allegations are made have to be thoroughly investigated and it is appropriate to chase this one down and find out what's going on, no question about it," he added.
    Earlier in the day, Kerry said that NATO needed to consider its role in the Syrian crisis, including how it would respond to a potential chemical weapons threat.

    "It was a very clear statement about the threat of chemical weapons and the potential for chemical weapons generically to fall into bad hands and what I did suggest to everybody was we therefore need to all be thinking about how we can get to the negotiating table to avoid an implosion of Syria which would be the worst consequence," he said, adding that the planning that the alliance had already done was appropriate.
    Also in Brussels, Kerry will host talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and senior Pakistan officials on Wednesday with the aim of calming tensions over border disputes and a flagging peace process.
    The meeting is part of a series of on-off discussions between Afghanistan and Pakistan at the behest of the United States, a senior State Department official said on Monday, confirming that Kerry had offered to host the gathering.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register