Britain must not act alone in arming Syrian rebels, warns Nick Clegg

 
6 June 2013

Britain should not go ahead alone with arming Syrian rebels and must act in step with America, Nick Clegg warned today.

Amid reports that he is among Cabinet ministers raising concerns over sending weapons, the Deputy Prime Minister denied there was a “fight” between him and David Cameron over how to respond to the civil war in Syria. He said that Britain could not “turn its back” on the atrocities being committed by both dictator Bashar Assad’s forces and the rebels.

But on arming the rebels, the Mr Clegg said: “This is not a decision in any event the United Kingdom should take on our own, this is something that has to be governed by what other big powers around the world think, notably the United States.”

Mr Clegg added: “The idea that we can press a button in Whitehall or Washington and create total peace and harmony in a country that has been torn apart by the most horrid, bloody civil conflict is absurd.”

Barack Obama has warned that the use of chemical weapons would be a “red line” but is demanding more evidence, while both Paris and London say they are more convinced that Assad’s forces have used sarin nerve gas.

The White House has condemned the Syrian regime’s capture of strategic border town Qusayr and said the involvement of Lebanese Hezbollah threatens Lebanon’s stability.

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri today urged Syrians to bring down Assad and thwart “US plans to set up a client state in Syria to safeguard Israel’s security”.

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