US President Barack Obama Wednesday urged world support for punitive strikes against Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons, as Damascus vowed retaliation and resistance even if a third world war erupts.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel confer during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill Tuesday in Washington.
Obama, fresh from efforts in Washington to secure bipartisan support for military intervention, said in Stockholm that the world had set "a red line" for Syria and it could not now remain silent in the face of the regime's alleged strike on Damascus suburbs with chemical weapons.
"I didn't set a red line. The world set a red line," Obama said, referring to international rules banning the use of chemical weapons, even in case of war.
"My credibility is not on the line," Obama said in remarks after arriving in Sweden for a two-day visit.
"The international community's credibility is on the line and America and Congress's credibility is on the line because we give lip service to the notion that these international norms are important," he said.
Obama's trip will also take him to the G20 summit in Russia's Saint Petersburg, where he is expected to rally support for, or at least acceptance of, moves to punish Syria's President Bashar al-Assad for an alleged deadly gas attack in Damascus suburbs last month.
White House officials have said Obama will hold meetings on the sidelines of G20 with French President Francois Hollande, the main foreign backer of a strike on Syria, as well as the leaders of China and Japan.
While no formal bilateral meeting is planned with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a strong supporter of Assad, a White House official suggested there likely would be some kind of dialogue.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad, in an exclusive interview with AFP, said his government was ready to retaliate in the event of a military strike.
"The Syrian government will not change position even if there is World War III. No Syrian can sacrifice the independence of his country," Muqdad said.
"Syria has taken every measure to retaliate against... an aggression," he added, refusing to elaborate.
He also stressed that Syria's important ally Russia had not wavered in its support, despite comments by Putin suggesting a more conciliatory tone towards the West.
Both Iran and Russia have warned that any military intervention would have devastating regional consequences.
But in an interview broadcast earlier Wednesday, Putin appeared to strike a more conciliatory note by saying he did not exclude agreeing to strikes if it were proven the regime had carried out the alleged gas attack.
Muqdad stressed that Moscow had not wavered in its support of Damascus.
"The Russian position is unchanged; it's a responsible position of a friend that is in favour of peace," he said.
In later comments at a Kremlin meeting, Putin appeared to corroborate this, warning the US Congress that it would be legitimising an "aggression" if it gave its blessing to military action in a vote expected next week.
Obama said in Stockholm that he hoped Putin would change direction on a military intervention in Syria.
"I'm always hopeful... Ultimately, we can end deaths much more rapidly if Russia takes a different approach to these problems," he said.
Since British lawmakers voted down a bid to take any military action against Assad's regime, Washington has found a strong partner in France but is seeking other allies.
Opening a fiery parliamentary debate, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault urged lawmakers Wednesday to back military action against the Syrian regime in response to "the most massive and terrifying use" of chemical weapons this century.
Ayrault said it was "undeniable" that the regime had used chemical weapons to kill hundreds of people.
"To not react would put peace and security in the entire region in danger," he said.
No vote was to take place after the debate as Hollande does not need parliamentary approval to launch military action.
But amid widespread scepticism in France over military strikes, the government has launched a major effort to bolster support.
Syria's Muqdad lashed out at Paris, saying its stand on Syria was "shameful".
"It's shameful that the French president... says 'if Congress approves, I go to war, otherwise I won't go', as if the French government had no say in the matter," Muqdad said.
That was apparently a reference to a statement earlier this week by Patricia Adam, chairwoman of the National Assembly's defence committee, who said "France will not act alone... If the American Congress opposes intervention, France will not go."
In Washington, top administration leaders were to keep up an offensive to win congressional support for military strikes against Syria.
On Tuesday, after a passionate plea by US Secretary of State John Kerry not to succumb to "armchair isolationism," lawmakers in Washington drafted a bipartisan measure imposing a 90-day deadline for any US military intervention.
It would also ban the deployment of any US troops on the ground in Syria, where fighting, now in its third year, has claimed more than 110,000 lives.
Obama has deferred any military action in Syria, seeking Congressional approval at a vote scheduled for September 9.