AFP, Washington, 7 Feb 2012 – The United States said Tuesday it was working with friends to discuss how to provide humanitarian aid to Syrians caught in the government crackdown, but said it was not clear how much it would be able to help.
‘We are exploring the possibility of providing humanitarian aid to Syrians,’ White House spokesman Jay Carney said, saying any such move would come as Washington and partners ratchet up pressure on President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
But pressed on how any such aid would be delivered and how it would be targeted, Carney said no such ‘mechanisms’ currently existed.
State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland also weighed in on the question of providing humanitarian aid to Syrians, but made clear any such help would fall well short of direct aid to rebels battling Assad’s fierce crackdown.
‘It’s frankly not clear how much we’re going to be able to do, but we want to help,’ said Nuland, adding that suggestions like creating humanitarian corridors or safe zones for Syrian civilians were not yet realistic.
‘Some of these proposals that people are brooding about could not be done without foreign military intervention — as we have said, we don’t think more arms into Syria is the right answer,’ she said.
The idea of humanitarian aid was being discussed for Syria as several senior congressional figures, including Senator John McCain, suggested it could be time to go much further and start arming Syrian opposition groups.
‘We are not considering that step right now,’ said Carney.