Fischer calls on US to wait for UN inspectors' report

Austrian President Heinz Fischer and his German counterpart Joachim Gauck have both said that the US should hold off a possible military intervention in Syria until the UN weapon inspectors present the results of their examination. "It is the UN investigative team's turn to speak," said Fischer. "Now it is important to find the facts, and learn who was responsible for the chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus, which killed hundreds of people on August 21." Fischer was speaking at a joint press conference in Innsbruck (the capital of Tyrol province in western Austria) with Gauck, Swiss President Ueli Maurer and Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, Alois. "Anything that could weaken the United Nations' role as protector of world peace must be avoided," said Fischer. Austria still wanted a political solution, not a military one, the president added. Gauck agreed with Fischer, saying that the full potential of international law should be used. However, there still should be an "appropriate reaction" as a last resort, said the German president. Both heads of state welcomed the US saying it would put the military intervention on hold if Syria placed its chemical weapons stockpile under international control.