Post date: Feb 21, 2012 10:56:17 PM
WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 21, 2012) (STATE TV) - The U.S. State Department appeared on Tuesday (February 21) to open the door to eventually arming the Syrian opposition.
The U.S. State Department says they may have to consider "additional measures" in Syria, if a political solution doesn't work.
When asked about the current U.S. position on the issue of aiding the Syrian opposition militarily, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that the United States still believes that a political solution would be the best outcome in Syria.
"We don't believe that it makes sense to contribute now to the further militarization of Syria," Nuland said. "What we don't want to see is the spiral of violence increase."
"That said, if we can't get Assad to yield to the pressure that we are all bringing to bear we may have to consider additional measures," Nuland added.
Nuland denied that her comments marked a shift in emphasis by the United States, which thus far has stressed its policy of not arming the opposition. She said the focus remained "trying to pressure the regime into a political solution" and providing humanitarian aid to the people of Syria.
"But you are not wrong that we are reminding that we have not taken anything off the table," Nuland told reporters.
Syrian government forces killed more than 60 people on Tuesday in assaults on villages and an artillery barrage in the city of Homs, according to activists.
Activist accounts of the violence could not be confirmed, and the government bars most foreign journalists from Syria.