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NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Thursday called on the international community to overcome divisions and respond firmly to the alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
"I urge the international community to overcome its divisions over Syria. The international community has responsibility to impose and enforce an international ban on chemical weapons against the use of chemical weapons," Rasmussen said on his arrival of an informal EU defense ministers' meeting.
"This is the reason why the chemical weapons attacks in Syria can't be ignored. This is the reason why we need a firm international response to these attacks," he added.
The NATO chief insisted that "not to act would send a dangerous signal to dictators all over the world that they can use chemical weapons and maybe other weapons of mass destruction without any reaction from the international community."
However, Rasmussen ruled out any NATO involvement in possible military strikes against Syria, restricting the alliance's role as a forum for consultation and a defender of its member Turkey.
"If individual nations were to respond militarily, I would envisage a short, targeted, tailored military operation. And for that you don't need the NATO command and control system," he said.
