U.S., Italy Back 'More Assertive' Arab League Mission to Syria

The United States and Italy back efforts by the Arab League and its plan to send a new observer mission to Syria, Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said in an interview published Friday.

"We agree with the work of the Arab League and its intention to send a new, larger and more assertive observer mission to verify responsibilities and expose the (Syrian) regime," Terzi told the daily La Stampa after meeting his U.S. counterpart Hillary Clinton in Washington.

"This mission could be supported by a group of friends of the Syrian people ... made up of the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union," he said.

The idea would be "to present a broader front capable of radically changing the political balance in a way that respects the democratic will of the country," said Terzi, a former ambassador to Washington.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed creating a "friends of Syria" group after Moscow and China last weekend vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the crackdown on anti-regime protests.

In his talks with Clinton, Terzi stressed that he favored a "political solution" in Syria and expressed "deep disappointment over the non-approval of the U.N. (Security Council) resolution that would have given (President Bashar) al-Assad a precise signal to leave the scene or bring an end to the violence."

They did not seriously consider a military option, he said.

"It would be risky to think of humanitarian efforts backed by force without (a resolution) being passed by the U.N. Security Council or the backing of the Arab League," he added. "This is not the intention of the Americans or the Europeans."