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NATO chief stands against arming Syrian rebels

02 April 2012 19:17 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Monday called for "a peaceful and political solution" to the Syrian problem and warned against providing weapons to Syrian rebels, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"I don’t think the right way forward would be to provide any group with weapons," Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels. "There is a clear risk that the provision of arms to any group in Syria would also lead to a potentially dangerous proliferation of weapons in the region."

"I do hope a political and diplomatic solution can be found on the basis of the work that has now started under the leadership of the UN special envoy Kofi Annan," he said.

The remarks were made amid latest reports that some Arab countries were considering arming Syrian rebel fighters.

In addition, the NATO chief stressed that the alliance had "no intention" to intervene in Syria, while monitoring the situation closely.