Qatar revives proposal to send an Arab force to Syria [View all]
Source: Reuters
CAIRO - Qatar has made a fresh call for an Arab force to end bloodshed in Syria if current diplomatic efforts by international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi fail, according to the Doha-based al Jazeera television.
Brahimi is trying to build on an agreement reached in Geneva on June 30 calling for a transitional period in Syria. But differences between Russia and the United States over the future of President Bashar al-Assad continue to block a deal to end 21 months of violence that has killed more than 60,000 Syrians.
"Arabs must think seriously about sending forces to ensure security in Syria if diplomatic efforts fail to resolve the crisis," Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, said in remarks broadcast by al Jazeera television.
"It is not a question of intervention in Syria in favor of one party against the other, but rather a force to preserve security," Sheikh Hamad, who also heads an Arab League committee on Syria, said.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/12/us-syria-crisis-qatar-idUSBRE90B0EM20130112
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