MELBOURNE, Aug 27 – Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Tuesday spoke with US President Barack Obama about the situation in Syria which he described as a crisis of historic proportions, the Australian Associated Press reports.
“We’ve discussed how to chart a way forward. President Obama is considering options,” Rudd told an audience at the Lowy Institute in Sydney.
Rudd said he and the world cannot turn a blind eye to the ever worsening civil war.
“Without doubt, Syria is now the world’s greatest political crisis and unfolding humanitarian disaster. This is a crisis of historic proportions. It is not just one of these crises that happen.”
Rudd said history will judge the international community poorly if it does not stop the slaughter, likening it to the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
Rudd said he and the international community are also increasingly certain the Syrian regime used chemical weapons in a deadly attack on civilians near Damascus last week.
Syria will be top of the agenda when Australia takes over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council on Sunday.
The White House said both leaders expressed their grave concern about the reported use of chemical weapons.
“President Obama and Prime Minister Rudd discussed possible responses by the international community and agreed to continue to consult closely,” it said in a brief statement.
Earlier, Rudd said the United Nations (UN) had Australia’s support for an immediate investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
During a phone call to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, Rudd expressed Australia’s concern about the deteriorating situation in Syria.
They also discussed what next steps the international community should consider.
– BERNAMA
