ANKARA
US President Barack Obama has reiterated his determination for military action against the Syrian government, describing a possible operation as "limited and proportional" while dismissing allegations of "mission creep" in Syria.
The majority of the countries at G-20 were "comfortable" with the US's conclusion that Assad was responsible, Obama said in St. Petersburg, where he spoke after the second-day meeting of the economic summit.
He said there was a "growing recognition that we cannot stand idly by" on last month's chemical attack in Syria.
"Over 1,400 people were gassed. Over 400 of them were children. This is not something that we fabricated. This is not something we're using as an excuse for military action," Obama said.
- No long-term solution without troops
Obama allowed countries remain divided over whether a UN Security Council resolution is necessary for foreign intervention.
“Given Security Council paralysis on this issue, if we are serious about upholding a ban on chemical weapons, then an international response is required, and that will not come through a Security Council action," he said.
There would be "no long-term solution" without massive amount of troops, Obama said, which the countries in the international community "aren't signing up for".
"My goal is to maintain the international norm banning chemical weapons," he said.
Regarding his dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Obama said he did not expect Putin and himself to agree on action in Syria, but described his conversation with Putin on the margins of the G-20 meeting as "candid and constructive."
- Congress vote not "symbolic"
Obama will address the American people in a public speech on Tuesday while the US Congress will reconvene on Monday.
“I’ll make the best case I can to the American people, as well as the international community,” he said.
Obama said his choice for a Congress vote on action in Syria was not "symbolic", while refusing to reveal what he would do if Congress voted down his plan for action in Syria.
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