UPDATE - Merkel says Germany not to take part in strike on Syria

ADDS MORE COMMENTS FROM MERKEL, DANISH PRIME MINISTER

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - Germany will not take part in a possible military airstrike on Syria, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday.

Speaking at a joint news conference with the Danish prime minister in Berlin, Merkel said Germany is closely following recent moves by the U.S. and France after last weekend’s suspected chemical attack by the Syrian regime in Douma, Eastern Ghouta.

“There is no decision yet, let me underline this,” Merkel said, adding that she spoke on the phone today with French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Germany will not participate in possible military operations, but we will support any effort that would put down a marker that says any use of chemical weapons is simply not acceptable,” she said.

Merkel underlined that Germany would continue supporting all efforts at the UN Security Council and the work of international chemical weapons watchdog OPCW on investigating the chemical attacks in Syria.

“Now we are in a situation where we have high probability, indeed hard evidence that the Syrian regime again used chemical weapons,” she said.

Merkel voiced regret over Russia’s veto of a U.S.-drafted resolution at the Security Council on Tuesday, which envisaged setting up a new expert body to determine culpability for the suspected chemical attack in Douma.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called for a stronger stance against the Syrian regime by the international community.

“We can’t accept the use of chemical weapons, and the international community must ensure that red lines are respected,” he said.

The White Helmets, a civil defense agency, blamed the Syrian regime for the suspected chemical attack in Douma on Saturday, which killed 78 civilians and injured hundreds of others.