No intention to intervene in Syria: NATO chief

Brussels, Sep 10 (IANS) NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen Monday repeated that the military alliance has no intention to intervene in Syria and called for a political solution.

"Our position remains the same. NATO has no intention to intervene militarily in Syria," Rasmussen told reporters at NATO headquarters, reported Xinhua.

"We do believe that the right way forward is to find a political solution, based on the elements in the Annan plan, which I still think constitute the best framework for transition to democracy in Syria," he said.

"We urge the international community to send a strong and unified message to the Syria leadership to accommodate the legitimate aspirations of the Syria people."

The remarks came after some countries, including Turkey, publicly appealed to establish a safe zone for civilians in Syria, which raised fears that NATO may launch military strikes against Syria.

The NATO chief declined to comment on whether the use of chemical weapons by Syria would be a "red line" and lead to a NATO intervention.

"We haven't seen steps in that direction," he said.