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US says 14 more nations join statement on Syria
Posted: Sep 09, 2013 5:44 PM WESTUpdated: Sep 09, 2013 5:44 PM WEST
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says 14 more nations have signed on to a statement blaming Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government for a chemical weapons attack and calling for a strong international response.
That means the list has grown to 25 from the 11 – including the U.S. – who initially signed on. The statement was unveiled Friday at the Group of 20 economic summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Among the new nations announcing support are Germany, Denmark, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Honduras, Romania, Latvia, Albania and Lithuania are also listed.
The statement doesn’t explicitly call for military action against Syria, as President Barack Obama is advocating. But administration officials say it’s an implicit endorsement because the U.S. is publicly discussing a potential military strike.
