Italy backed Arab League plans for Syria

ROME, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- There is a growing consensus about the need to ensure the Syrian opposition gets strong political support, the Italian foreign minister said.

The Arab League said it wanted the U.N. Security Council to set up a peacekeeping force for Syria, a measure rejected immediately by Damascus, al-Jazeera reports.

British Foreign Minister William Hague had said it was unlikely that Western forces would be involved in any foreign military intervention in Syria. Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said his government backs the measure. The government in Rome, he added, was locked in step with the Arab League.

"There is an especially strong convergence of views between Italy and the Arab League on the need to ensure the Syrian opposition strong political support," he said in a statement. "Encouraging the interconnection and unification of all its various components is an absolute priority in the launching of a political process in Syria that the international community supports."

Russia and China again blocked a measure censuring Damascus at the Security Council. The Kremlin said backing a resolution could lead to a military campaign like last year's war in Libya.

Russia said it was reviewing the Arab League measure but stressed a cease-fire in Syria would have to come first.

Yousef Ahmed, Syria's envoy to the Arab League, was quoted by the official Syrian Arab News Agency as saying the league's proposal was "falsifying the Arab collective will."