BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Thursday to use the United Nations Security Council to get a quick, international reaction to Syria's conflict, her spokesman said in a statement.
“The chancellor called on the Russian president to use negotiations in the U.N. Security Council for a quick, unanimous international reaction,” the statement said, adding that both leaders agreed the conflict can be solved politically.
Less than four weeks before an election in which Merkel hopes to win a third term, she faces a balancing act in how to respond to a chemical weapons attack in Syria, as German voters overwhelmingly oppose military action there.
Moscow, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is seen as certain to veto any call for intervention in the U.N. Security Council.
