In a press conference held on Monday, Kerry provided an update on their response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
He said President Obama and his entire national security team had been reviewing the situation in Syria for the last several days.
"What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. It defies any code of morality," he said. "The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. By any standard, it is inexcusable. And despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured, it is undeniable."
He stressed that the meaning of the latest chemical attack went beyond the conflict on Syria, and stated that conflict in the country brought so much terrible suffering.
"There is a clear reason that the world has banned entirely the use of chemical weapons. There is a reason the international community has set a clear standard and why many countries have taken major steps to eradicate these weapons. There is a reason why President Obama has made it such a priority to stop the proliferation of these weapons, and lock them down where they do exist. There is a reason why President Obama has made clear to the Assad regime that this international norm cannot be violated without consequences. And there is a reason why no matter what you believe about Syria, all peoples and all nations who believe in the cause of our common humanity must stand up to assure that there is accountability for the use of chemical weapons so that it never happens again," Kerry said.
Referring to the video footage of the aftermath of the attacks, he said, "It is really hard to express in words the the human suffering that they lay out before us. As a father, I can't get the image out of my head of a man who held up his dead child, wailing while chaos swirled around him, the images of entire families dead in their beds without a drop of blood or even a visible wound, bodies contorting in spasms, human suffering that we can never ignore or forget. Anyone who could claim that an attack of this staggering scale could be contrived or fabricated needs to check their conscience and their own moral compass."
Kerry stated all of the evidences proved the usage of chemical weapons and said, "The reported number of victims, the reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured, the firsthand accounts from humanitarian organisations on the ground, like Doctors Without Borders and the Syria Human Rights Commission -- these all strongly indicate that everything these images are already screaming at us is real, that chemical weapons were used in Syria."
As for the Syrian regime, he said, "Syrian regime maintains custody of these chemical weapons and has the capacity to do this with rockets."
Kerry said they had additional information about the attack and added that they would provide additional information in the days ahead.
"At every turn, the Syrian regime has failed to cooperate with the UN investigation, using it only to stall and to stymie the important effort to bring to light what happened in Damascus in the dead of night," Kerry said.
Stating that he spoke on Thursday with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, Kerry said, "I made it very clear to him that if the regime, as he argued, had nothing to hide, then their response should be immediate: immediate transparency, immediate access, not shelling. Their response needed to be unrestricted and immediate access."
He pointed out that Syrian regime refused to allow the UN investigators access to the site of the attack for five days and accused the regime of "systematically destroying the evidence".
"That is not the behaviour of a government that has nothing to hide. That is not the action of a regime eager to prove to the world that it had not used chemical weapons. In fact, the regime's belated decision to allow access is too late and is too late to be credible."
Kerry said the administration was actively consulting with members of Congress and added that President Obama had been in close touch with the leaders of their key allies over decision about how to respond to the "indiscriminate use of chemical weapons."
Following his press conference, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke to Kerry on the phone over Syria crisis, said diplomatic sources.
Two leaders shared views on the matter and discussed what could be done in the next terms to bring an end to the crisis in Syria.
The White House said on Monday that the evidence of an attack is “undeniable” and there is “very little doubt” that the Syrian regime was behind it, as "the regime has made obvious their attempts to preclude an investigation."
Speaking at the daily press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney stated that United States President Barack Obama is weighing the proper response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria but has not yet reached a final decision on how to respond. Carney gave no details on the time frame for when Obama would decide.
Underlining that the chemical weapons use is "undeniable" as "a violation of an international norm," Carney stressed that "There is very little doubt in our mind that the Syrian regime is culpable."
Carney said it is now “profoundly” in the interest of the US and international community to respond.
Asked about potential Russian opposition to US operations in Syria, Carney noted that "When it comes to Russia, I think it's important to make clear, the use of chemical weapons is undeniable. Even Russia and Iran believe that chemical weapons were used."
"The UN team does not have a mandate to establish culpability. It is our belief that the regime in Syria has made obvious their attempts to preclude an investigation."
He said Assad had killed "innocent women and children in an attempt to maintain his bloody grasp onto power."
Anwering a question on the difference between the hundreds killed in the August 21 chemical attack and the estimated 100,000-plus killed so far in the Syrian war, Carney said the violation of "international standards" set the chemical attack apart.
"It so clearly violates an international norm that has been in place for a very long time," Carney remarked of the chemical attack. "The use of chemical weapons is contrary to the standards adopted since World War I."
Carney also talked of the UN investigation in Syria on the use of chemical weapons, saying "The UN cannot conduct a credible inquiry into what happened because it's been too long since the attack and the site has been bombed."
"The visual evidence is overwhelming and compelling. So we have established already that the weapons have been used," he concluded.
Carney spoke after a UN team of investigators visited the site of the alleged chemical weapons attack to gather evidence where they were earlier fired upon by unidentified snipers, for which Assad regime accuses rebels , while the rebels say government allies were responsible.
The statement of the White House and the US Secretary of State John Kerry’s comments came as the Obama administration and its international allies evalute their options on how to respond to the Syrian army’s probable use of chemical weapons in attacks last week that killed hundreds of civilians.
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