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Syria must be held to account, says William Hague Syria: UN report consistent with UK's stance - Hague
(about 7 hours later)
The world must hold Syria to account if it fails to comply with an agreement to destroy its chemical weapons, the foreign secretary has said. A "damning" report by UN weapons inspectors is fully consistent with the UK's belief that the Syrian regime was responsible for a chemical weapons attack, the foreign secretary has said.
William Hague said the pressure was on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, who had used the weapons "repeatedly against the Syrian people". William Hague was speaking after the UN confirmed that chemical weapons had been used in Syria.
Mr Hague had earlier said the world must hold Syria to account if it fails to destroy its chemical weapons.
He said the UK's priority was to secure a UN resolution to enforce the deal.He said the UK's priority was to secure a UN resolution to enforce the deal.
He was speaking after a Paris meeting with his US and French counterparts about the US-Russian agreement. Although the UN weapons inspectors were not mandated to attribute blame for the use of chemical weapons - which are reported to have killed hundreds of people on the outskirts of the capital Damascus on 21 August - Mr Hague said their findings matched the UK's claims that government forces were responsible.
Under the agreement, Syria must hand over a full list of its stockpile within a week and destroy its chemical weapons by mid-2014. "This report, which we are analysing in detail, is clearly very damning," Mr Hague said.
"It confirms that there was indeed a large-scale chemical weapons attack on the areas east of Damascus in the early hours of August 21.
"It confirms that this was an attack against civilians, against children and a large number of people were killed and it is fully consistent with everything we have always argued about this attack - that sarin was used, that it was on a large scale."
He added: "We have always believed that this was the work, the responsibility of the Assad regime and everything we can see in this report is fully consistent with that."
'War crime'
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied responsibility and blamed rebels.
Under a US-Russian agreement, Syria must hand over a full list of its chemical arms within a week and destroy them by mid-2014.
The framework deal was announced on Saturday after three days of talks in Geneva between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.The framework deal was announced on Saturday after three days of talks in Geneva between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The US and France had threatened military action over a chemical attack in an area on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus in August. The US and France had threatened military action over the attack.
The prevailing belief internationally is that poison gas was used and that hundreds of people were killed - the US says more than 1,400. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday the use of chemical weapons represented "a war crime".
However, the Syrian government has always denied using chemical weapons, with officials blaming rebel forces. Russia, a key ally of Syria, has said there is no proof the regime was involved. He added: "Survivors reported that following an attack with shelling, they quickly experienced a range of symptoms, including shortness of breath, disorientation, eye irritation, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting and general weakness.
'Cat and mouse' "Many eventually lost consciousness. First responders described seeing a large number of individuals lying on the ground, many of them dead or unconscious."
Mr Hague said a UN resolution should enshrine the regime's responsibilities and Britain, the US and France would not accept any "cat and mouse games". The UN investigators examined blood, hair, urine and rocket samples.
Mr Ban said 85% of the blood samples tested positive for sarin.
He said "the international community has a responsibility to hold the perpetrators accountable".
Earlier, Mr Hague said a UN resolution should enshrine the regime's responsibilities and Britain, the US and France would not accept any "cat and mouse games".
"A resolution should create a binding commitment for the regime to give up its chemical weapons within a specific time frame, to credibly, reliably, promptly place them under international control for destruction," he said."A resolution should create a binding commitment for the regime to give up its chemical weapons within a specific time frame, to credibly, reliably, promptly place them under international control for destruction," he said.
"It is the Assad regime that has stockpiled these weapons and has used them repeatedly against the Syrian people."It is the Assad regime that has stockpiled these weapons and has used them repeatedly against the Syrian people.
"So the pressure is on them to comply with this agreement in full, the world must be prepared to hold them to account if they don't. And our three countries are certainly determined to do so." "So the pressure is on them to comply with this agreement in full; the world must be prepared to hold them to account if they don't. And our three countries are certainly determined to do so."
He said the UK, US and France would use their "full weight" as permanent members of the UN Security Council to get the chemical weapons out of Syria and bring about a peaceful end to the civil war.He said the UK, US and France would use their "full weight" as permanent members of the UN Security Council to get the chemical weapons out of Syria and bring about a peaceful end to the civil war.
"We are determined to do everything we can to stop the bloodshed in Syria, to support the moderate opposition and to alleviate humanitarian suffering," he said.
"Our goal remains to convene a second Geneva conference to bring all sides together to agree a political solution to the conflict and we will work with Russia on bringing that about as soon as possible."
Mr Hague added the allies had agreed that the "credible threat of military force" played a role in bringing about dialogue.
The prime minister's spokesman has described the discussions between the US secretary of state and his Russian counterpart as a "significant development".
He said it was for the UN to test the credibility of the initiative and it was important to get on quickly as "speed is very much part of the credibility test".