quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated, please. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. carper: mr. president, you, my colleague from delaware, have heard me say more than a few times when i meet people, when we meet people, i like to ask them what's the secret for being married 50 or 60 or 70 yoars or more. i get some really funny answers, also some very poignant answers, and sometimes i get very instructive answers. one of the best answers i've ever heard, i've heard this more than a few times over the years, the key to a long, successful marriage is the two c's. the two c's. not coons and carper, not coons and carney, not coons and

castle but the two c's, communicate and compromise. communicate and compromise. and the folks from delaware who elect us and people from the other 49 states are wondering why don't we do the two c's more here? because those two qualities, communicating and compromising, would actually -- not only successful for -- needed for a successful marriage but also for democracy to succeed. and today as we prepare to vote on the final conference report, a compromise, it's the product of a whole lot of communication from people all over the country, from businesses, from air traffic controllers, from labor unions, people who use airlines, for folks who are involved in sometimes direct or indirect ways with this legislation, but they've been communicating with us what they thought we should do and as we seek to bring our air traffic control system into the 21st century, and as we seek to fund

the modernization of our airports and our airways, we've had to raise some money, and and i was privileged to serve on the commerce committee for a while with our chairman, senator rockefeller and boy, forever we're trying to work out a compromise between the airlines and the general aviation community for how do we pay for this tab so we don't run up the tab even more. i take my hat off to the chairman and others who worked on this with the key stakeholders to say, well, they're going to raise some revenues. actually pay additional tax moneys to come up with the money we need to provide for better airports and frankly, better air traffic control systems. safer air traffic systems. more efficient air traffic control systems. better results, maybe not for less money, but better results for a little bit more money. but it's been an ongoing communications for several years, ongoing dialogue that's actually led us today to i think

a very good -- good compromise. one of the things that we are often told in these jobs is we talk with consultants who talk to us about messengering -- messaging and and among the things they tell us never use the word "frats." don't tell your constituents about -- we're working on infrastructure. they don't know what you mean. instead, we should talk about the roads, highways, bridges. we should talk about railroads. we should talk about canals or ports. we should talk about water, wastewater treatment systems. we should talk in our state about the system that protects our coastal beaches. we should talk about dredging a channel in a place like the delaware bay or delaware river, in an environmentally safe way. talk about levees, talk about the deployment of broadband across our country. that's all infrastructure. that is all infrastructure. and you know what else is infrastructure? our airports.

our airports. and the airways, the air traffic control system that is used to dispatch planes and make sure they go where they're supposed to go and land where they're supposed to land and fly safely throughout the day and through the night. and the state of delaware mr. chairman, mr. president, as my presiding officer knows, our presiding officer knows, we have three counties, the largest county in delaware is sussex county, the third largest county in america. and the county seat of sussex county is a place called georgetown. and just on the outskirts of georgetown, the town of several thousand people, they -- we have an airport. an air park, as we call it. and there is an effort to try to expand theling of one of the runways. it's about 3,000 feet, the other is about 5,000 feet and the county, which sort of manages the air park in georgetown, they would like to expand the longest runway from

5,000 to 5,500 feet to 6,000 feet. why? because by doing that, we provide a nurturing environment by improving that infrastructure, in this case the length of the runways, and the navigational system, the lighting systems that's associated with the airport, we make it an easier place, a safer place to fly in and out of and increase the likelihood it's going to be used. by whom? that it's going to be used among other things, not just 737 aircraft but 757's. because there's a company there called pats, p-a-t-s-that works on airplanes, very expensive jets, 737's and their cargo and passenger planes and they make sure they have larger fuel tanks so they can fly further safer. in some cases they work on the insides of these really exclusive jets and tony them up and make money do and fly them

all over the world. that takes place in sussex county, delaware, at the georgetown air park. they need to increase the length of the runways. this legislation will make that possible, over a two-stage period over the next 18 months or so and they need at georgetown, they need to be able to take out some hindrances to safe travel to airplanes including maybe trees in some parts of the runway, the approach, the takeoff, the departure side of the runway, put in better and a half graitional systems, better lighting so big planes can get in and out safely and more work can be done by pats to hire more people. there is a guy from west virginia the chairman knows well, we're both from west virginia, i'm a native west virginian, he's lived there -- governed there and served as their senator for a lot longer than i lived there as a kid but a guy chaimed job john chambers, who senator rockefeller knows well whose

parents are i think still there. i think they taught maybe college. i don't know if they caught at west virginia wesleyan when you were president. but they've been teachers, maybe professors. john chambers started cisco, a big technology company, and john chambers is fond of saying the jobs in the 21st century are going too to go to the states or the nations that two do two things well. two things well. number one, create a world-class productive work force. people can come to work, do a job and do it in an efficient -- efficient way using technology. the second thing he says, the jobs of the 21st century will go to places where the infrastructure is world class. the infrastructure is world class. with this legislation today, we're going to make sure that the nation that really started all this, aviation with the wright brothers and actually got us not off the right foot but off on the right wing, all

those years ago, that we're going to be in a position to reclaim that mantle and to again show the rest of the world how to do it right, to strengthen our infrastructure, bring our infrastructure into the 21st century, be able to fly planes safely -- safer out of airports that are better configured, better constructed, more wisely invested in communications and navigational systems and the right length -- width of runways, make sure that the folks controlling our aircraft are doing a better job, using all the tools in the toolbox. i had a chance to fly as a naval flight officer for about 23 years, five years in a hot war, another 18 years in a cold war, till the end of the cold war with the soviets, and i've flown in and out of a lot of

airports, naval bases and other military bases with my crews on active duty and reserve duty and i had spent a little time as the chairman did, as governor of my state and as the commander in chief of the delaware air national guard, delaware national guard. these are issues i've actually thought about a whole lot, someone who has been in a lot of airplanes, a whole lot of airplanes over the years. and i feel better about the men and women flying airplanes in uniform and flight suits going forward, i feel better with this investment, this legislation today about the folks that will be flying in commercial airlines, whether they're from the u.s. or some other country because of this legislation, this compromise. and then i feel better about people flying what i call teeny-weenies where they happen to be little pipers or cherokees or whatever, they happen to be some of these really exclusive jets that we see zipping around west virginia and delaware and

other places. so it will be a safer way to travel and it's going to be an investment, it's going to help create jobs including in georgetown, including the georgetown, delaware and in west virginia. so for everybody who has been a part of bringing this to this point, our friends in the house who were able to communicate and compromise with us and the chairman of the committee and the ranking republican who is on the floor, i take my hat off to you. this is a happy day for us here in this body and i think it's a happy day for the united states of america. we've actually shown we can actually sometimes get things done that have a good and a positive impact on our states and on our nation. with that i yield our floor and i don't know if there is anybody else who seeks recognition, mr. president. if not, i would make -- i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. isakson: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: on behalf of the minority side, we'd like to yield back the balance of our time. the presiding officer: all time is expired. under the previous order, the question occurs on the adoption of the conference report to accompany h.r. 658. the senator from west virginia. mr. rockefeller: can i ask for the yeas and nays, please. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be.

the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there

any senators wishing to vote or to change their vote? hearing none, the yeas are 75, the nays are 20. on the conference report to accompany h.r. 658. the conference report is agreed to. mr. reid: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent we now proceed to a period of morning business with senators yoid to -- allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. there will be no more votes tonight. the presiding officer: are there any objections? without objection, so ordered.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: thank you, madam president. i would like to take this evening to recognize the remarkable achievements of a former senator from ohio. the state of ohio, as you know, is known as the birthplace of

aviation. it's the home of the wright brothers, after all. but it's also the home to 24 astronauts. i have had the privilege of calling two of those most famous astronauts, neil armstrong and john glenn, my friends. today i'd like to take a few minutes to commemorate the tremendous achievements of one of those heroes by celebrating the 50th anniversary of the historic 1962 flight of nasa's mercury spacecraft, nicknamed friendship seven. 50 years ago, on february 20, 1962, friendship seven, piloted by john glenn, performed three successful orbits of the earth at 17,400 miles per hour and made john glenn the first american to orbit the earth. while in orbit, john glenn performed a series of breakthrough experiments to test human ability to function in the weightlessness of space. he then successfully piloted the spacecraft manually ought an automatic malfunction in the flight controls, overcoming a

dwindling fuel supply in re-entry, completing the mission by landing the spacecraft safely in the atlantic ocean, 4 hours, 55 minutes, 23 seconds after the initial launch. he returned a national hero. his historic flight inspired scientific curiosity and national enthusiasm for further space exploration, paving the way for america's continued dominance in space operations. of course, we remember him here in the senate very well and remember that in 1998, then-senator glenn again demonstrated his tremendous courage and re-entered space at the age of 77 aboard the sport utility vehicle discovery, of course, to examine the effect of space flight on the elderly. space exploration, however, is not senator glenn's only remarkable achievement. he set the transcontinental speed record in 1957 to set the record for supersonic speed. flying at 723 miles per hour from los angeles to new york. in addition to these

contributions to scientific exoration and nasa, john glenn gave 23 years of service to the marine corps. he is a veteran of two wars. he flew 149 combat missions. he was awarded the distinguished flying cross five times. he retired as a colonel in 1965. ten years later, he began a career in the united states senate, contributing 24 years of service to the senate from the state of ohio, from 1975 until 1999. in 1998, the john glenn institute for public service and public policy at ohio state university was created, and senator glenn became an adjunct professor at ohio state school of public policy and management. then in 2006, the john glenn institute merged with the school of public policy and management to form the john glenn school of public affairs at the ohio state university, which prepares future generations of public servants. i've had the privilege of co-teaching four classes at the glenn school prior to coming to the senate, and i still have the honor of serving on the board of

advisors of the glenn school, along with senator glenn and his incredible wife annie. she has been a tremendous partner for senator glenn through all of these experiences we have been talking about tonight. senator glenn's achievements have paved the way for future generations to follow in his footsteps by continuing to make the united states a global leader in science, technology and education. so on the 50th anniversary, we commend senator john glenn on the historic and successful 1962 flight above nasa spacecraft friendship seven, and we would also like to take a moment to recognize him for his outstanding accomplishments, not just as an astronaut, as a fighter pilot and as a united states senator. we thank him for his public service to our country. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. and i suggest the absence of a

quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be resippedded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask the following items be considered en bloc, calendar h.r. 347. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the committee reported amendments to each bill be agreed to en bloc, both bills read a third time and passed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table and any statements relating to the bills be placed in the record at the appropriate places as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to senate resolution 368 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 368 recognizing the anniversary of the tragic earthquake in haiti on february 12, 2010 and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will

proceed to the measure. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and any statements be placed in the record as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the senate adjourn until 10:00 a.m. on tuesday, february 7, 2012, following the prayer and pledge, the journal be approved, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders reserved for use later in the day. following any leader remarks the senate be in a period of morning business until 12:30 p.m. with senators apermitted to speak up to 2e7b minutes each with the republicans controlling the first 30 minutes and the majority controlling the second 30 minutes. finally, that the senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meeting. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. durbin: we hopen consideration of the surface transportation bill tomorrow. if there is no further business to come before the senate i ask that it adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until

this past week house and senate lawmakers continue negotiations to extend the payroll tax cut for workers

i think first of all won't work for some of the considerations. second it contradicts the notion that we are suggesting and i agree with the more education than you have today the better off you will be in this economy. archived and searchable at c-span.org video library. >> next british foreign secretary william hague reports to the members of the house of commons on why there was a failed attempt to obtain a u.n. resolution on the syrian situation.

>> of the whole house will be appalled by the bloodshed and repression continued in this very moment. over the last 11 months more than 6,000 people have been killed. the regime deployed snipers, tanks, artillery and mortars against protesters and population centers particularly. thousands of the syrians have endured imprisonment, torture and sexual violence including the alleged rape of children and the humanitarian position is the interior reading. this is an unacceptable situation which demands the united international response. last tuesday i attended the u.n. security council debates in new york along with secretary clinton and the french foreign minister and other ministers. we all spoke in strong support of a draft u.n. security council resolution proposed by the kingdom of morocco on behalf of the arab league. the resolution called for implementation of the plans to

stop all the violence in syria from all sides and to begin a political transition. mr. speaker, there was nothing in this draft a resolution that wouldn't be purported buy any country seeking a peaceful end to the tragedy unfolding in syria. it demanded them end to all violence and called for the process to allow the syrians to determine the future and settled a patent in national unity of government and internationally supervised election. it did not call for military intervention and could not have been used to authorize any such action under any circumstances. it dhaka not impose sanctions. a proposed putting the waist and authority of the united nations security council behind the plan to achieve a lasting and sustainable peace in syria. as i said at the security council, this was the arab league plan not imposed by western nations. it was co-sponsored by nations that included turkey, jordan, kuwait, libya, bahrain, qatar,

the united arab immigrants, egypt and iran. the leadership and the strong understanding of the region deserves our support. i pay particular tribute to the secretary-general of the arab league and the pri minister who traveled to new york to brief the council and played a vital role in the extensive negotiations that followed. on saturday the resolution was put to the vote. the 15 members of the u.n. security council voted in favor. the two did not. russia and china both exercised the veto. they did so despite extensive efforts to amend the draft resolution to a draft the specific concern. and in the face of the repeated appeals from the nation's instead of the surf with the syrian regime and implicitly to leave the door open to further abuses by them. they did so while tanks were in circling homes and shelves of the syrian civilians coming at

200 people and of a 30 the anniversary of the massacre. we regard this veto as an error of judgment by the china and russia. mr. speaker there is no need to make some words about this. russia and china have twice vetoed reasonable and necessary action by the united nations security council. a century the trail of the syrian people. deploying them may have let down the arab league and increase the likelihood of what they wish to avoid in the civil war mecca and displaced themselves on the arab and international opinion. bye contrast i think the other members of the security council and the principal in particular the nonpermanent members of the council, larocco, colombia, pakistan, portugal and all of whom voted in favor of the resolution. pakistan's representative for the council spoke for all the fuss when they said this resolution should not buy by being active and engaged we should give hope to those who

are expecting at. mr. speaker regime in his john comfort at the u.n. secure deacons although we will do everything we can to make sure that is short-lived. this is a doomed regime as well as a murdered regime. but there is no way it can recover its credibility internationally or with its own people. the u.n. security council failure to agree the resolution doesn't and the effort to end the violence in syria. and i want to set out how we will now proceed. first we will continue our strong support for the arab league. earlier this afternoon i spoke to the general of the arab league as well as the foreign minister of jordan. i welcome and encouraged the proposal to appoint a special envoy of the arab league and recommended the leadership and actions so far. the foreign ministers will meet this weekend to consider their options. the secretary-general is very clear about the urgency of the situation, the continued determination of the world to

act and the need to step up their efforts. i told him the arab league will have complete support. second we will take the international coalition of the nation's seeking a peaceful and lasting resolution and syria. we welcome the concept of the new lead group of the friends of syria which i did so last tuesday in new york. the aim of such a group would be to demonstrate the friends of international support the people of syria and the legitimate demand to coordinate the intensified diplomatic and economic pressure on the regime. and to engage the syrian opposition group committed to the space future for that country. britain will be highly active member in setting up the group with the broadest possible international support. third, we will intensify the contact with members of the syrian opposition. the house will recall that in november on a appointed the transit guide and ambassador level envoy to lead our discussion with them. we will continue to urge the opposition to come together to

the common democracy to human rights and to the protection of all of serious's minorities. we will maintain our focus of the united nations undeterred by the vote. we will continue to raise serious's security council and consider with other nations and resolution of the united nations general assembly. despite our disagreement with russia and china, we will continue to discuss with them any possibility of an agreed but meaningful way forward. since we would increase pressure to the european union following the discussions in new york ministers from france, portugal and germany we've already agreed 11 rounds and hope to agree further measures by the foreign affairs council on the 27th of february. sixth we will work with others to ensure those responsible for the crimes are held to account. the u.n. human rights council meeting in geneva in march we would work to ensure the strongest possible mandate to scrutinize human rights violations and syria said those responsible know that there will be a day of reckoning and that

they will be held to account. we will use our remaining channels to the regime to make clear our abhorrence of the violence that is utterly unacceptable to the civilized world. the syrian ambassador was today summoned to the foreign office to receive this message. despite our deteriorated relations of the syrian government, we remain committed to ensure the safety of the embassy and staff in london and expect the authorities to provide the same protection to our embassy in damascus. in parallel i have recalled to london our ambassador in damascus for consultations. he and his team work and extremely difficult positions to ensure that we have an accurate picture of what is happening in syria. i hope the house will join me in paying a tribute to them and their family. to face the and security is always prominent in our consideration. mr. speaker the human suffering and syria is already unimaginable and is engraved -- grave danger. the position taken by russia and

china has regrettably made this more likely. however, this government, this house and our country and our allies will not forget people of syria. we will redouble our efforts to put pressure on this appalling regime and to stop this indefensible violence. >> mr. speaker, i welcome this opportunity to discuss the issue and i am grateful with the foreign secretary to make a statement this afternoon. the foreign secretary's statement is made in the dark shadow continuing even today with news of scores more people murdered in homes in just the last 24 hours alone. responsibility for the death of these innocent people lie at the door of the prison and his murderous regime. across this house and indeed across much of the international community the regime has no

future. the tragedy is not withstanding that the slaughter still continues. the international community condemnation is not enough. the country inns of diplomatic efforts are required and that is why the recent which the secretory is just spoken to reach agreement in the security council is such a stain on the conscience of the world. i therefore welcome the point made by the secretary setting up the next steps the british government will seek to resolve the great crisis. i've not in the recent days and do not in this response make any criticism of the government for its actions to date. rather in the spirit of the points and a determination let me ask the following questions of the foreign secretary. i share the disappointment exposed regarding those taken by russia and china. so can a foreign secretary set up more to the house what is being taken to convince them of the need for international consensus. in particular, could the foreign secretary tell what conversations he has had with

sergei since the advance of his upcoming meetings in damascus tomorrow with the president. has he sought or received any assurances that in this meeting the russian foreign minister of leased will have the wider world of the international community that he must rule? i welcome the emphasis that the foreign secretary placed upon the work of the arab league in this crisis and the prospect of the special envoy being appointed and the establishment of the group. with the press for the arab league summit to be held in the weeks ahead in order to best coordinate the steps that now require to be taken. can the foreign secretary give any indication bill level of ambition that he's aiming for at that meeting on the 27th of february for the possible further sanctions to be discussed. separately will the secretary inform the house how recently he's spoken to the counterpart about the steps that we hope should be taken at this stage to further increase further

pressure. mr. speaker the secretary mentioned the human suffering now being endured. there are reports of even more people fleeing across the border of syria into the neighboring countries and refugee camps set up along the border struggling to meet these increasing demands. so can the forensic to reconfirm what conversations he held with the international development secretary on this matter and confirmed the house within the government leading on their response to the crisis. has the government requested a meeting of the council of the development ministers to ensure the coordinated response to the growing threat of these colin humanitarian crisis? mr. speaker i wrote to the foreign secretary of the weekend regarding the attack on the syrian embassy in london. while we share the aandahl to the sense of revulsion and the present act on the regime on the ensure the government would agree that the protection of the foreign embassies on our soil is a basic principal of international law that must be upheld. let me take this opportunity to

praise the bravery of the officers on the embassy this weekend are with their family and friends of those officers who are hospitalized and we wish them a speedy recovery but would the secretary of line what discussions took place between home secretary and the police i hid with regard to protecting the syrian embassy to the process attack. any specific measures for the plans in light of the reports of the opposition forces calling them living abroad to protest at the embassies. mr. speaker shortly before the statement the u.s. closed the embassy in damascus and had withdrawn all diplomatic staff from syria. the berlin decree made clear from his remarks if been recalled for the talks. will the foreign sector therefore outlined for the house what is the british government's assessment of the utility of the existing diplomatic channels in

light of the continuing violence. mr. speaker we welcome the states already undertaken by the government to try to increase the pressure and deep in the isolation of president of sadr and the syrian authorities. i, however, fear that this week and the security trends have been taken of the green light for the sustained slaughter by the regime. that is why they must be redoubled to end the violence and bring a peaceful resolution to the months of bloodshed. >> i'm grateful to the gentleman who has referred rightly to the bloodshed taken place over the last 24 hours and the agreement that it gets across the house and in so much of the international community that this regime and syria has no future and he's spoken as i have of the need for country inns of diplomatic effort and that he has no criticism of what the government has done so far, and i'm obviously grateful for that.

to deal with his specific questions, he asked about whether there should be the arab league summit. that indeed is one of the possibilities for bringing together a wide group of the nations to address the crisis. but i think it would be preferable to have a meeting that goes beyond the european union and the arab league since the nations have been very supportive of the security council. latin american nations as well, and so it is probably best to have as many as possible in the international gathering and the group that goes beyond europe and the arab world. the would be my preference will discussion with the arab league and others about that. he asked about the level of ambition for the meeting on the 27th of february. most of the measures that we can take we have now taken. we have had 11 rounds of sanctions that includes the

complete oil embargo that we introduced months ago. we placed sanctions on well over 100 individuals and entities. there will be further tightening of the regimes that we can introduce that i stressed the majority of the sanctions we can introduce we have already introduced, so i don't want to exaggerate what we can do on the 27th of february. he asked about contact with some of the other foreign ministers i didn't mention in my statement and i discuss very regular consultations including last tuesday i spoke with him about new york while i was in new york and that was my most recent consultation with him and indeed i would expect turkey was a co-sponsor of the resolution and i would expect it to be very active participant in the new grouping that we expect to be performed. on the question of russia and

china we are in daily conversations with russia and china security council, and i've had many discussions with them in the situation and syria. and while we haven't spoken between the security council vote and the visit tomorrow i will speak to him after. he has been speaking to the general of the arab league so i am in search of. while mr. lavrov has in mind for his visit clearly the russians or on a different track and so it has been difficult to work with them on such contacts with syria. the international development secretary gets attention to this and britain has contributed to the building with funds for people who have been displaced and he is ready to work with other countries on any further development in that regard. the gentleman praised the

metropolitan police involved in protecting the syrian embassy. there are regularly delete your regular meetings between the home office at the foreign office on the protection of all the indices. well contingency plans in the case of the syrian embassy. those of course are put into the operation. this weekend, and there were about 150 protesters there on saturday, three of whom by climbing up managed to enter a first floor window in the embassy and the police presence further reinforced and the presence has continued and will be reviewed today. but i think they did a very good job in protecting the embassy and the normal channels are working well between the foreign office and the home and here we ask for the assessment of the facility of our diplomatic channels. i've been discussing this with our ambassador in damascus on the phone before i can to the chamber, and he has had the

announcement of the american embassy is enclosed. we've been aware for some days that the american embassy was closed today. this is primarily on the security ground. our embassy premises is in a different situation and the security is slightly in the case of the u.s. embassy. we will review all options and we have recalled our ambassador and clearly we are doing that so that we can review all options. i would prefer if we but change, if we would make a further change to cover diplomatic relations to act in concert with a wide number of other nations, so we will stay close to our partners in the arab world and the european union. and i am not ruling anything out. the house will understand there are advantages and maintaining an embassy as long as we can and in terms of understanding the situation on the ground being able to discuss the situation with a variety of people in syria, being able to impress upon some members of the regime

the gravity of the situation that they've gotten themselves into. so, we are maintaining not announcing at the moment any closure of our embassy and we will keep the situation under close review. >> although i am certain the secretary needs no point of information from me, may i never the less urge him to keep in mind the fact that inside syria as he well knows is a complex ethnic and religious group of people there have lived for many generations a large christian community now estimated to be over 350,000, and that of the archbishop has said if the regime is overthrown and replaced as it almost certainly would be by the regime of a different denomination, that

that community might suffer catastrophe as it did in iraq after the overthrow. >> mr. speaker i can't imagine not a point of information from my right honorable friend, and his knowledge of the region. he's quite right given to the provision of the questions and they're remains a thriving presence in syria but i think what we have to consider is that this regime is now doomed one way or another. it is a question of how it falls, not a question of whether it will fall. and that is the importance of our work with the syrian opposition. i meant to give to groups of the syrian opposition of my honorable friend had many meetings with them of and pressing on them if they are to

be alternative future government of syria the importance of the protection of the minorities including of christian minorities. we have to look for that protection from future government since this regime has no future. >> mr. speaker, with the conversations in new york the question -- it's still necessary to give the present regime an exit strategy, nevertheless the crimes now to warrant that level. >> these are very serious crimes to be the whole lot of legitimate questions and there are some we all know. we're a country is not a signatory to the international criminal courts and then cei is not a signatory. then it requires the united nations security council to bring about a reference to the prosecutor of the international criminal court. and he will understand given the

difficulties of passing a resolution that supports unaudited and sensible plan from the arab league it will be even more difficult and coincidentally impossible to pass a resolution seeking a reference to the international criminal court. that is why, as i explained in my statement, we will make very strong representations of the meeting of the united nations human rights council. where we will press for the appointment of a special investigation into the human rights situation. syria has an alternative track. >> what a difference a to consider speaking to the foreign minister before mr. lavrov goes to damascus tomorrow, and remind him of the very serious damage what russia is doing to its own net long-term interests in the middle east? will become if he does speak to mr. lavrov, point out to him the statement to be put out by the opposition syrian national council today?

and which the accused russia and china, and i quote these words, responsible for the escalating act of killing, and then went on to say that the use that of the security council is come to use their words, tantamount to the license to kill with impunity. will not rush of very very heavy responsibility if syria now descends into bloody and protracted civil war? >> i agree with my right honorable friend, and that is why i have very strong language of my own and in a statement today. these vetoes are a betrayal of the syrian people and are increasingly responsible for the situation in syria and some of the slaughter that is taking place there. on the basis of their own national interest whether it is a very sensible policy to carry on in this way. they are putting their backs on

the arab world and would reduce their influence in the middle east and this is a regime that they are backing a regime that is doomed in any case. i am planning after the visit today and no doubt have well expressed views and the views will be expressed in the house this afternoon. >> with the journalists being loaded into nettie and the elections isn't it the case that as a former secretary just said it is rapidly turning itself into a sprawling estate, and wouldn't it not be a good opportunity for the conservative party which sits with mr. putin's party in the same european council? >> i don't think the party matters on this government statement, mr. speaker. russia, we strongly disagree and

we are appalled that the veto in the security council. nevertheless, russia is a permanent member. it does have a veto and we will continue to discuss with russia the way forward just as we will discuss with all other nations. >> is it not clear the exercise of the veto buy any member of the council always comes at a cost and there will be no exception to this principle? but in this case is in the immediate cost being paid in the broken bodies and the sheets of children's and the english anger wish my friend needs to know about the urgency with which he showed to fulfill the objectives he properly set out. she is most well-placed when he takes the view that it should be the widest possible collision of the willing throughout the world

as indeed the security council and the sliced so that with the united nations was unable to do may be achieved in a much broader basis family the maintenance of the pressure upon syria. >> well i absolutely agree with my right honorable friend as he can gather from my earlier reply. this is why that international coalition should include the notion is well beyond europe and the arab world and i discussed this morning for the minister of australia to be a participant coming and i think across the commonwealth as well as across the arab and the european communities. and there will be the demand to be involved in that wide coalition. so we will pursue this very energetically in the hours and the days ahead. >> mr. speaker, there were singularly absent from the foreign secretary's statements in iran. i wonder whether you can say just a little more to what extent that is to do this to

make it certainly feels that. iran has as we've discussed in the house before iran has given active support to the syrian regime. that has taken the form of equipment as well as advice on how to deal with civil disorder and brazillian -- rebellion and there may be other ways which we are not aware in which the iranian regime supports the syrian regime. this is a classic piece of hypocrisy. they have supported revolution elsewhere in the arab world particularly in egypt and tunisa in those countries there again in syria. and i think that is seen through in the whole arab world and further widens the current widening separation between iran and the arab neighbors. ..

that we have had with them and we do have an ambassador level representative do them as i mentioned earlier, but i also figure 1 of the roles of the wider international coalition that we were just discussing a few moments ago who would need to meet with the various putin opposition. i think that would be for the opposition to proposed their plan to make their clear commitment to a democratic future for their country.

and set out the community to human rights and protection of minorities to try to come together and one of the challenges for them is to come to, to develop a single platform and a single agreed agreement taking concern. so we will -- there is no particular limit on resources we can provide. we have provided training and documentation of human rights abuses and strategic communications and so on. we may be able to do more in the future. >> as the foreign secretary said it was very impressive on the bbc yesterday but before we go to army the opposition the marine corps will be turning into the taliban and al qaeda. this is the fourth major

intervention in a majority muslim country. iraq, afghanistan and libya do we not need a broader strategic approach in this region of crises? >> i think that is all we have. i am grateful to say he couldn't fault my colleague and although he has been approach. approached. but let me reassure him further because we are not contemplating arming anybody. indeed one of the things that we stressed in our meetings with the opposition was that they should remain peaceful and we have not been in contact with the army which is engaged in a different kind of struggle with the syrian authorities, so i would not classify them as an intervention. we are supporting the work of an arab league. we are assembling the widest possible international coalition. we are not calling for military action or intervention and so i think you can be reassured and

be supportive as he was to the first question. >> can i applaud the foreign secretary in the very vigorous way in which he and his colleagues are attempting to deal with this matter and may i join the staunchest of our diplomatic staff in damascus. but can he tell us what he thinks it is that animates the chinese government to support these butchers? >> the this is an intriguing question. as far as we can see and as the security negotiation started friday last week china has no objection. they could be easily identified to the draft resolution. when it came to the both the chinese senate representative was surrounded by air president urging him to vote for the resolution.

however evidently his introspection as it were to vote to go to veto the resolution with russia. it seemed a design to act with russia on the security council outweighed any other consideration. i think that is a mistake on the part of china. we have a regular and full strategic dialogue with china on regular occasions and i certainly want to pursue that vigorously and an extra teacher dialogue because i don't think that is an interest of china nor do i think it is living up to the full responsibilities of permanent membership in the security council. >> the foreign secretary talked about -- and all of a sudden i wondered in his discussion with the foreign secretary whether there was any talk about the syrian opposition and that is safe havens on the turkish border? >> well, this idea has been floated. i think more in the media by any

of the governments concerned, and of course it can be an appealing idea. when people are in such distress and suffering so much this is an appealing idea but then we will have to consider how safe havens would be created and indeed how they would then be policed. and i think we know from experience in the 1990s in the balkans the notion of safe havens that are then not really safe havens. one of the worst things that you can create and so in a fact the creation of true safe havens inside syrian territory would require a military connection in syria and that is something that is not authorized by the u.n. security council and it would require a massive military operation. therefore it's not proposing that and that was not part of our discussion last week.

>> the russians and chinese are woeful -- some of us did warn through the inspection that danger in the hands of an alibi because we didn't stick strictly to humanitarian actions nor were we pursuing gadhafi in the last hours of his life executed by our allies. the fact is the chinese are impervious to grasp that. the project has been short to engage with them to get them to sign up for the resolution which in turn prohibits any resolution of the action that took lace and libya. >> well i don't think what happened and libya provides an alibi. after all there were countries on the security council such as india that did not vote for the resolution or south africa they

did vote for it but then were critical. who are perfectly happy to vote for this resolution because it's entirely different from what we contemplated in libya. we are not calling for military intervention. these are different circumstances so i don't look at that is an adequate defense by russia and china. he said i was quiet on diplomacy, but we will allow of course i did say we will continue to discuss with russia and china but we will do so in a rather vigorous way but we will do so continuing to seek agreements at the u.n. security council and we will be very busy with that over the coming days and weeks. >> the first arab country in the arab spring is setting its syrian ambassador and recognizing a merger in the terminal regime. the syrian national council has called on other countries to follow suit.

is that something the british government will be considering? >> as i mentioned earlier i don't rule that out and to do that i would like us to act in concert with other nations. we will keep in close consultation with our european and arab herders on this but there are considerations against that and to retain an embassy which i also mentioned earlier so it's a balance. >> having had a very dear friend whose 5-year-old son was lectured by the assad regime in the days they controlled lebanon could i -- my right honorable friend is doing today but also urge him to take a interest in what is going on in that country with the assad machine -- regime continuing to destabilize through its own proxy and --

speier is absolutely. we are always saying we have a close interest in what is happening and in syria a great deal of the time has been an influence in lebanon and additionally events in lebanon are an important consideration in how we handled this crisis in syria. it is quite different from the libyan crisis so to point to the horrors of what has happened before and i'm conscious of the point that he makes. >> can i welcome and endorse the foreign secretary's remarks about taking action for the european union and the jenin assembly and the human rights council and the syrian group at one organization that he did not mention was nato. is it not time to have a discussion with a collective council including syria about whether we could have some kind of no-fly sound comparable to

what happened 11 years ago over the northern part of syria? >> i don't think it is mr. speaker. first of all because i think if nato began planning for different eventualities in syria that would weaken rather than unite the international coalition. also a no-fly zone would require authorization from the u.n. security council. this clearly would not obtain at the moment and in addition although there are reports of syrian aircraft involved in the latest events this is not the prime means of repression and so there is a danger that a no-fly zone although it's an easy thing to call for what give the illusion of security when they prime means of repression of the civilian population is by troops on the ground. >> i welcome the foreign secretaries words about the

countries in the arab league. with the eyes of the world on syria will the foreign secretary give me his personal assurance that he will not close his eyes to what is happening next door in israel where united nations resolutions and national law are being breached against the palestinian people? >> well, my honorable friend knows again we have discussed in the house for many times the position if the statement that of course we have condemned violence in the occupied territories and expansion of settlements in the occupied territory which are illegal on occupied land. >> thank you secretary for dealing with that point. we must stick to what is right and that is in the context of the statement. >> thank you mr. speaker.

what does the foreign secretaries assessment of the prospect for russia agreeing to enforce an arms embargo on russia? >> well there is -- at the moment russia agreeing to an arms embargo. russia continues to sell arms to the regime. russia has many close interested allies outside of the regime, naval base. they are important and syria has been important for russian arms. this is no doubt one of the factors behind russia's defense of the assad regime and their veto at the u.n. security council so the prospect of them agree to that of the moment is very small. >> given the cynicism of russia's veto for the draft resolution over the weekend and the bloodshed what my right honorable friend consider calling on the russian

ambassador suggesting to him that russians failure to support human rights in syria might the construed by some as incompatible with rushes on council of europe? >> well, i will give consideration to all the points being raised by russia. i will make sure that the force of the views of russia's veto in the house of commons as well as the russian embassy my first preference in how and how we are going to conduct our discussions with russia now is for me to do so directly with the russian parliament as well as any ambassador and we may have. >> it on the action of russia and china, no one in this house is trying to defend or justify it in any way. can i take the foreign secretary back secretary back to the point made earlier? is he aware that the resolution

which was of course brought forward to stop the slaughter was so expensive to bring about regime change that inevitably it did place right into the hands of russian china who have done what they have done in vetoing the u.n. security resolution and of course both countries have a pretty poor record when it comes to civil rights. >> well the resolution was in my view is faithfully faithfully implemented and i think the right honorable gentleman voted in the end for action in libya, i guess we did so we are united in agreeing on that resolution and i don't think it provides an excuse for russia and china for the reasons i gave earlier by our honorable friend from gainsborough. there are many nations on the security council who disapproved what we did in libya who voted for this resolution on syria.

>> you notwithstanding the foreign secretaries international criminal court if there is a subsequent u.n. resolution on president assad and his regime to the u.n. and the icc does he agree that the timely -- timeliness of that is important. they feel they have got nothing to lose, nowhere to run and they are likely to dig in on the atrocities of war and perhaps the timing is absolutely critical. >> yes, that is certainly a very valid and legitimate point. in any case it's not possible at if i may refer to the prosecutor of the icc but i do think the longer this goes on and the greater the atrocities that are committed the more determined the world will be to find a way to bring to account and bring to justice those responsible and that should weigh heavily on those who are now participating in the atrocities of his regime.

>> thank you mr. speaker. with the secretary be able to update on measures being taken to ensure the safety of british citizens in syria? >> mr. speaker for a long time we have said that british nationals should not travel to syria and those there should leave. we have said that for many many months. we have also made it clear when we reduce the staff of our embassy some weeks ago that the minimum level possible to maintain the embassy that level of staff is below any remaining british national so we have made the position on that abundantly clear and there should not be reddish nationals now in syria. of course there will be some who are dual nationals or who are married to people in syria who have remained and of course whenever they are in difficult circumstances we were to all best that we have made the

position starkly clear. >> thank you mr. speaker. having set in the middle of the so-called protected area which was totally unprotected, can i i ran for size to the house something the foreign secretary has already said and that is any protected area requires to have people on the ground with the ability to keep it protected and this talk of a protected area continues, we will actually have to think of how that can be done and right at the moment it certainly cannot be done by the british. >> my honorable friend speaks with deep experience of these matters and certainly any discussion in the future of safe havens or humanitarian corridors must be accompanied by the will and the authority and the full lead to make sure that they truly would be safe and

humanitarian rather than leaving people in a very difficult situation. >> thank you mr. speaker. i attended a fund-raiser in newcastle were over 30,000 pounds was raised by humanitarian assistance for those terrorized by this regime but many there have expressed real fear at returning toyria especially now they are showing support for democracy and freedom. could the secretary of state assure me that the colleagues in the home office are not rare for -- forced to return to syria at the moment? spierer will draw this point to the attention of the home secretary and i congratulate my honorable friend and her constituents on the -- they been raising. i point to the attention of the home secretary and of course we have rigorous rules on the matters in terms of giving asylum. we are not returning people to a country that are in a state of

great disorder but i will check on the point that she mentions. >> in his ongoing discussions with china the use of the veto in these circumstances forces does not bode well for the future of the security council. returning to the russian foreign minister's visit tomorrow regardless of the positions russia is taking with my right honorable friend agree that the russian foreign ministry is conveying the mood of the international community and the arab league to tell president assad did his days are numbered and the only question is how soon will it be before he goes? >> well i would love it if that message was conveyed by sergei lavrov as well as should be conveyed. i think russia's approach remains different from that as we saw in the veto and they are still acting to protect the regime and still standing by a

long-standing ally despite everything that has happened. so we will align as i said to the house earlier to the representative rush including the foreign minister the steps taken in this country as indeed they will hear from the arab league from so many of the nations around the world. >> mr. speaker one assessment the foreign secretary made of course over the weekend that all a story has been freed by the assad regime according to the jena and united kingdom. if this is true wouldn't this be further evidence of the murderous activity of this government? >> yes, it would. it is clearly an announcement that is not designed to be helpful in any way. it is further evidence of what the honorable member refers to but if they -- that we are going to change our approach in the

united nations or anywhere else that announcements like that to the relief of many reprehensible criminal than they are seriously mistaken. >> thank you mr. speaker. russia's inflicting a double blow on the syrian people both by their u.n. veto and by continuing the $1.5 billion of arms sales which allow the killing and maiming to continue. is a moral and humanitarian argument will the foreign secretary -- is not in their economic interest that their key trading partners in the middle middle east such as saudi arabia to act as roadblocks to protect the syrian people? >> yes i absolutely agree with my honor golfer in. i think this is an important consideration for russian authorities. it is not even in their own national interest to take the position that they have taken and there will be a future government in syria that will remember what they have done.

the action they have taken is causing outrage in the arab world and they are deeply frustrated with russia's position in the secretary of the arab league said to me this afternoon though we will employ the argument -- >> the murders and disorder are obviously dreadful in syria and obviously have to be condemned. notwithstanding the foreign secretary at the present time does he not think it's appropriate to have further negotiations with the russian foreign minister and with the government of iran and his interest cannot be for further disorder to spread out into their country? is he also confident of the democratic credentials of all of the syrian opposition governed by many other colleagues is surely one that we can learn from where the abuse of human human rights and fortunately will continue in libya despite

assurances given by the opposition there. >> well certainly we will have discussions with russia as i have mentioned many times. i i don't think discussions with iran would be protect live on the subject at the moment. the views of members of the third opposition vary greatly and there only three different organizations that could be classified as the syrian opposition and that is why i stressed the need for them to come to an international gathering with a clear statement of democratic and inclusive principles including the protection of minorities in syria. i think they will have greater support from the world if they can articulate those things clearly and set out a clear fusion for the future of their country. >> it is always the innocent to suffer in in these situations and anyone who is seen or heard the collateral damage being inflicted on on the innocent women and children cannot fail to -- is disgraceful and

disgusting. could my right honorable friend tell me if there's anyway we can use their remaining infrastructure in syria or that of our allies to provide humanitarian or medical assistance? >> we don't really have the diplomatic -- we are down to the level of representation that we can have with diplomatic relations. our staff are able to maintain an embassy but is not easy for them to travel around the country at all let alone to deliver practical assistance to people so we can do that without a diplomatic staff remaining. we do support the work of the icrc in the region as i said but we will have to deliver any assistance that way. >> the media priority must maximize pressure to put an end to the slaughter. what longer-term assessment is being made about the likely

successor of the regime? >> as i was saying to the member opposite there are many among the syrian opposition. when i met members of the syrian national council they were very clear in what they said about their commitment to an open and democratic society and the protection of minorities and i have no reason to doubt them on that as well as many influences at work. so i think that is very difficult to predict, to give an accurate answer to my honorable friend's question. all i can say is we will continue to urge the various groups in the opposition to adopt those open democratic principles in which we also believe. >> did you address the foreign secretary on the dual nationality? what assessment has my right honorable friend made on the number of people and what discussions has he had with those allies who might not have

diplomatic presents if the situation deteriorates? >> it is in any case the arrangement with the european union that we will provide assistance to citizens if one is not able to do so but of course other nations are also being slammed down and so it would be wrong for people to rely on that. i do think they should take our advice very seriously. we have said do not stay in syria. do not go to syria. i can't make it clear then that. rather than expect practical assistance, they should leave and leave now. >> dr. philip ian. >> thank you mr. speaker. at the privilege of visiting syria twice in my life once in 1998 with a backpack on my back and last year for delegation led by my right honorable friend. i was struck by the stark

difference in access to news media within the country between those two. does the foreign secretary agree with me that our foreign foreign policy and indeed the foreign-policy of all of our partners abroad should reflect that change in the environment and the sooner the russian government understand and respect that the better? >> yes i very much agree with my honorable friend. people do have access to media reports particularly carried by the arab satellite television channel and what we say of our government and indeed what we say in the house is heard and understood by many people in syria. that is one of the reasons why it is not possible just to say to the people there is no problem in the government is doing everything it can when they can see that it isn't acting in the interest of peaceful transition in syria so we will continue to communicate in many ways directly with the people of syria and arab world for russia and china are go.

>> mr. speaker the actions of this despotic regime after 30 years of human rights abuses on the assad regime as we know. if i can go back to the question by my own -- we welcome the appointment of the special envoy to syria. would that necessarily lead to the establishment of a contact group with the syrian council in the free army and other individuals in lieu of a free democratic government? >> well, we will have to see how the opposition develops. we are urging them to come together. i'm afraid our contact is when -- been with those advocating peaceful action. we have not had contact with a free syria army who are in a different position in abdicated different course but we want them to come together and we want wanted to be involved and to bring their ideas and their

future plans to the international groupings of whatever kind among arab and european and other nations. i think that will be the forest for the opposition to present their ideas and to seek the support of the rest of the world >> in a statement by my right honorable friend in securing a resolution in the general assembly, can i ask them what assessment has been made on the possibility of fat and on what timeline might we expect them to cooperate? played well we are still making an assessment. really the resolution was vetoed in the security council. the general assembly resolution does not have the same weight as a security council resolution but it can illustrate the strength of numbers behind a particular proposition so in discussing that, whether it is a feasible way forward we are discussing with the arab league and with our other partners on

the security council as well and therefore he can't give them a timeline yet but it is a possibility. >> may i press him and suggesting that the regrettable decisions to veto or at least in part caused by russia and china have exceeded the mandates under the u.s. resolution of 1973 when the syrian regime changed in libya and they themselves declared at the time? >> as i pointed out earlier there were other nations that were very critical of our actions in libya appreciating that it was was put forward on behalf of the arab league and put forward an entirely different proposition from how we proceeded in libya because the situation is entirely different so i don't think there should -- they should be advanced as an excuse for what is in my view and indefensible

ito. >> thank you mr. speaker. just as we were arriving into libya to support those opposition -- with weapons and logistics to work with other countries to give logistics and weapons in humanitarian aid, when will the stage be reached -- >> well i hope mr. speaker i have covered those points. we are not engaged or planning to engage in arming the opposition forces in syria although we will help with logistics and practical support in order to ensure their ability to operate. i don't think it would the good to be seen as -- so there is a

limit to what we can do in that regard and on the question of the embassy well we will work with our partners around the world on that but there are ambassadors as well as making a strong -- it does improve our understanding of the situation on the ground to have an embassy there. >> mr. richard harrington. >> is the foreign secretary aware of the reports of chemical and other weaponry being used out of syria and if so is he concerned about the consequences it could have for israel, jordan and the general region outside of syria? >> we keep a very close eye on any reports of the presence of chemical or biological weapons. i haven't seen reports of such weapons being moved around although clearly the syrian regime has close connections with hezbollah and can give rise to concerns about what may happen in lebanon if the

situation continues in syria but we are very alert to this issue. my honorable friend can be assured of that. >> impending elections in russia intends to bolster its domestic opinion polls and put forward as one possible explanation for the use of the russian veto. >> this may be a factor in the russian veto. they are coming up to an election but i think a stronger factor is that they have an assad regime and they have a naval base there and different arms there. they do feel committed to support the assad regime. that is something that they should now change their mind about now that the circumstances have changed so we will continue to work on them on whether or not before or after their

election. >> mr. speaker clearly india came to the defense and supported the resolution marking an end to three decades of that country's ties to the afghan families but to what extent -- to any automatic measures in the event of noncompliance? >> like my honorable friend i welcome india to this resolution. it is true that several countries on the security council did want to see a resolution which didn't go beyond the draft resolution as it was voted on saturday. certainly india is one of the countries that wouldn't have wanted a stronger resolution or the authorization of sanctions or other measures but the prime negotiations to the security council was always with russia and the objections raised and the amendments were from russia primarily rather than from india

or south africa or pakistan. >> i very much welcome the foreign secretary. the foreign secretary will note there are 30 opposition parties in syria from the national coordination committee, the kurdish party and work has been going on for a very long time. how close are we to -- because the opposition are united for the future of syria. >> many of them have come together under the umbrella of the security national council but it's very important that all interests, all of the major groups come together under that umbrella. this is a national emergency. in this country which is a thriving democracy when we face a threat we come together.

syria faces one of the most dire crises in their history so they should be able to come together for this period so we will continue to give them bad advice. >> can i press the point on another aspect and that is the fact that many of the most -- offenders of this barbaric syrian regime have british nationality and this includes mentors of president assad's immediate family. can i asked the foreign ministry to commit to look into it and consider ways we might be able to -- abusive reddish nationalist? >> the well my honorable friend many people may share my honorable friends view about views expressed by dual nationals in the country however views expressed are no ground for depriving anyone of their

nationality so i say to my right honorable friend i am sure she was very clear about that so i cannot hold out any hope to my honorable friend. >> what role can jordan play in helping to resolve this crisis? >> jordan is playing a strong and constructive role. i spoke to the foreign minister of jordan and they support the work of the arab league and they are energetic sponsors. they cosponsored the resolution put to the u.n. security council so we welcome their active participation. >> tonight on "the communicators" the third in our series, from this year's consumer electronics show developments and indications, consumer technology and policy.

>> a new america where freedom is made real for all. without regard to race or economic condition. [applause] i mean a new america with everlasting the ancient idea that men can solve their

differences -- [applause] as candidates campaign for president this year we look back at 14 men who ran for the office and lost. go to our web site c-span.org/the contenders to see video of the contenders to -- who had a lasting impact on american politics. >> the radical liberal left continues to offer only one solution to the problems. they tell us again and again and again, we can spend our way out of trouble and spend our way into a better tomorrow. c-span.org/the contenders. >> poland will be america's detecting power in syria after the u.s. recently closed its -- in damascus. american diplomats were pulled out of the country earlier today

in the state department is urging all u.s. citizens in syria to leave immediately as the violence continues. here is a portion from today's briefing. >> on the embassy damascus, we all saw your notice this morning. i'm just wondering if you can tell us what that means for the state of connecticut in between the u.s. government and the assad regime in damascus presumably no longer able at leased directly confer with either regime officials are opposition. does that mean that we are cutting a line of communication? >> well first as we notified this morning we have concluded that we need to suspend operations at our embassy in damascus and light of the fact that we have security concerns about the safety of our personnel. as you know we have been working for many weeks with syrian officials to try to control access around our embassy

facility. we were not able to come to appropriate arrangements there. so the decision was made to suspend operations. ambassador ford and the remaining personnel departed the country, damascus time this morning and the flag has been taken down. we have asked our ally poland, and poland has agreed, to be our protecting power in damascus. so a big thanks to warsaw for that. any remaining american citizens in syria who haven't heeded our repeated travel warnings which were updated again today can receive consular services through the embassy of poland. >> okay but the question was how are you going to maintained lines of the medication with the assad regime given that you have anybody on the ground? >> after a brief little break in europe where he's going to meet up with his wife who he hasn't seen for a while ambassador ford

will be coming home. he will set up shop here as head of our syria team. the expectation as their announcement said earlier today was that ambassador ford will continue to maintain the context he has had broadly across the syrian society but particularly with the syrian opposition as well the secretary special adviser fred hoff who works with syrians outside of the the country so that we can maintain contact so that we can made sure that the syrian people know that we stand with them in their desire for a democratic future. >> and wind you have to -- >> will all the syrian personnel who have also been evacuated, will they be working out of his makeshift office here at state in the interim? >> we will have those that we need to maintain the business working here. >> you didn't mention anything about when contacts need to be

made with syrian authorities whether an american is detained or any other reason. will that go solely for the protecting power or will these contexts be maintained from here as well? >> well the syrian embassy in washington remains open at the level of the charge as necessary particularly having to do with security issues. as you know in the past we have done business with the charge. we can also -- the polish protecting power obviously will do the business in and the way that swiss do for us and i ran the federal. >> have you received assurances from the syrian government that your property will be protected in your absence or do you expect to be ransacked in the next 72 hours? >> before departing the country today ambassador ford did go in and see foreign minister to formalize their decision to suspend, inform him and also to make clear that we expect that

the remaining vienna convention not the shins that they have to our property etc. will be respected and to formally make clear that the government of poland will be our protecting power. so our expectation is that our property will be protected and the hope is, as i said, this is a suspension and when they are better days in damascus will be able to reopen. >> the this is their first conversation in quite some time i imagine. >> i'm not sure of the answer that i know when the issue of requiring of a hardening of the embassy and the streets around it first came up in december they had at least one direct conversation. i don't think in a couple of weeks they have had a direct conversation. >> did they speak about the violence at all, but the fighting? >> you my understanding, and i don't have a full readout on that conversation, is that it

was relatively pro forma, businesslike. we don't think that the syrian government has any questions about where we stand on these issues particularly given the president's statement over the weekend about the violence and a strong the strong comments that the secretary had oath in munich and in sophia, strong statements from ambassador rice to new york over the weekend. >> victoria can you elaborate a little bit on the nature of the threat. some news reports have said that it's directly linked to al qaeda. is this precisely the threat or are you talking about general things that emanate from other groups? some even talk about president assad release from fighters who's going to arrive and they might be linked to al qaeda. >> some room down here. she's being modest and sitting over there. i'm not going to get into details of our security assessment. they are saying in a statement that we released today our

concern is that the situation in underground damascus is becoming increasingly violent, reflecting the fact that the regime is increasingly losing control of the situation because it itself has resorted to violence rather than dialogue with its own people. our embassy facilities and for those of you who no, damascus is right at the confluence of many main streets. it has no protection or said or asked to speak of. i will say not yet, that from most 20 years, the u.s. government has been petitioning the government of syria to be able to move the embassy to have a plot of land elsewhere that was better protected as we have for many of our missions and we were never able to come to an agreement on that. so this is obviously regrettable and not what we wanted that where we are. >> just to follow up quickly? i know that you're talking about security threats but some are saying that basically arab states now should close their

embassies in damascus as a measure to step up pressure on president assad. would you encourage that? >> a number of arab states have party taken that measure. you remember that analysis was that if we could keep our ambassador ford and our personal bear our analysis was that would help us to maintain contact with the syrian people. we will now endeavor to do that from washington. i think each nation has to make its own decision how to best support the syrian people as we go forward. >> could to underscore the exact state of the relationship between washington and damascus? does this mean relations have broken off? can you explain exactly what it means to not have a physical ambassador right there in damascus? >> we have suspended our diplomatic residence in damascus. we have not been diplomatic relations and there's a difference there. >> would you tell us a little bit about what steps the u.s. might take next?

what is the plan b given the failure of the resolution in the security council? >> i think the secretary spoke to this quite fully yesterday. she was asked to do what next question if you well and she spoke about a number of measures. first of all, in a situation where the security council has been blocked from acting in support of the arab league planned in support of the defense of a democratic path for syria we are going to have to take measures outside the u.n. to strengthen and deepen and broaden the international community of pressure on assad. so to continue his diplomatic isolation to work with as many countries as we can to increase both regional sanctions and unilateral national sanctions on the assad regime, to pressure those countries that are still trading with him, particularly that are trading weapons or otherwise fueling his war

machine, to stop. the secretary also spoke yesterday and you've seen a number of other foreign ministers speak about the friends of a democratic syria, those countries around the world that stand for a transition that's up towards the arab league plan, doing more together to support a path forward for them, to provide what humanitarian relief may be possible. that's obviously but we want to look at that and to provide lyrical support for them. those conversations are now going forward among the countries that might want to be part of this kind of a friends initiative and we'll see where that conversation goes in the coming days and weeks. >> and i follow up on that? will there be some kind of formal meeting of this new group? >> again where the stage of consulting with like-minded countries in the arab league and will see how this develops as we

go forward. >> foreign minister lavrov will be visiting damascus. do you expect any hardening position, syrian hardening position or what do you expect? >> i doubt is the preferred the government of russia with regard to their expectations for this visit of foreign minister lavrov. he did devise a secretary that he intended to do this when they saw each other in munich. our hope and expectation is that foreign minister lavrov will use this opportunity to make absolutely clear to the assad regime how isolated it is and to encourage assad and his people to make use of the arab league plan and provide for a transition and step away. >> one more question please. did you receive any signal from their embassy here that they may suspend their operation as well? >> we have not.

>> how is he going to show the isolation of the assad regime if he is coming to visit the government in syria at a time when everyone else is running away? >> well we can certainly make clear what it felt like to be two of 15 on the security council. that certainly speaks to the isolation. 13 as the secretary made clear, both in munich and in sophia, 13 other members of the council were ready to join this resolution from four continents. >> they had china. that is over 1 billion people so they already have 20% of the worlds population. >> to countries from two parts of the world when the rest of the security council representing four continents was ready to support the arab league plan and the syrian people. >> why have you chosen poland to represent the united states interest in syria and could you elaborate on the role of polish

diplomats representing the united states? >> well as i said we are delighted that the government of poland was willing and able to accept this responsibility. to my knowledge it may be the first time that we have asked our ally poland -- poland to be a protecting power for the united states. poland maintains an embassy that is effective enough to take on this extra workload. they are a strong ally and partner of the united states. a protecting power obviously provides consular services to americans in need, provides advice to americans and as necessary if messages have to be transferred between us and the government of syria and damascus, they will be the transferring entity in that case both from damascus to us and the than the other way around. >> you said that you're hoping when foreign minister lavrov meets with the assad regime on tuesday that he would deliver

the message that perhaps syria should go along with the arab league initiative. if russia took the time to veto it on saturday what did lavrov indicate to secretary clinton that gives the u.s. the impression that he might actually say, you need to take a second look at this arab league proposal? doesn't seem to make sense. >> i'm obviously not going to get too deeply into the conversation that they had in munich which we described at the time is quite a big risk conversation. i will say that it was clear from that conversation that the government of russia also has concerns about the escalating spiral of violence in syria and about where this could lead not only inside the country but is a region as a whole for russia's reflation ship with the government of syria. you've seen recently some public statements from foreign minister lavrov and his people that they

are not interested in protecting anybody in particular but they are also interested in peace and security. so they have made public statements about wanting to seek a political solution. let's see what they can achieve. 's be. >> a quick couple of questions. a couple of other world leaders over the weekend also talked about a contact group on syria or friends of for syria. what is your understanding? have you started any kind of a process to create this group? >> nicole and her colleague sitting next to her as the same question a moment ago in my answer to that was this is an idea that a number of countries have been thinking about, how the friends of a democratic syria can work together and we are continuing to talk about it among interested countries including this turkish government. the secretary had a relatively brief meeting with the foreign

minister davutoglu in munich. >> foreign minister davutoglu is coming to the u.s. this week. some say turkey that one of the topics will be the buffers on. is there anyway you can elaborate on the issues regarding syria? >> they always talk about syria and i expect that they will again. i'm not going to preview a meeting that hasn't happened yet. >> if you can can you be more specific about who we are talking about other than turkey and great britain? >> you we have a number of arab countries. i think we need to have a little bit of time to work with partners and allies but as we made clear we have 13 out of 15 security councilmembers thinking we need to do more to support the arab league and a democratic

syria. in the absence of being able to work with unsc context we have to clearly put together a group that can work outside the unsc. >> so what is the hope then for the syrian people? were seeing more video coming out of the crackdown in the last 72 hours. how much longer do they have to wait for someone to try to help them against this government? >> the well again roz, this was the travesty as secretary clinton said, what happened in new york on saturday. there is a plan on the table. it's a plan that would provide a very clear way forward and it was blocked and vetoed in the u.n.. so the question becomes how can we support and continue to support the syrian opposition in its effort to pull together its own plan to work in a consolidated and unified way to have its voice is heard in a

peaceful manner going forward, and how, if any is necessary and it's very difficult now with the monitors unable to operate, we might be able to provide some humanitarian support. so these are all things we are going to look at but also this issue of squeezing and pressuring the regime economically and by cutting off its arms so that the money that is fueling this war machine dries up. >> would you support any move, i mean to ring assad before the international criminal tribunal? >> he's going to have to be accountable for what he's done but it will have to be up to the syrian people how that happens. >> are we keeping it or is it a vacation hangover? >> until assad goes. >> excellent, excellent.