Jimmy Carter calls for Syria peace summit

Former US President Jimmy Carter condemned possible chemical weapons attacks in Syria, but called for a “peace conference” and working with the United Nations, rather than using a military solution. In a statement Friday from the Carter Center, the former president said that the UN investigation into possible chemical weapons attacks in Syria is under way and urged against action in the country without UN support. “It is imperative to determine the facts of the attack and present them to the public. Those responsible for the use of chemical weapons must bear personal responsibility,” Carter said in the statement. “The chemical attack should be a catalyst for redoubling efforts to convene a peace conference, to end hostilities, and urgently to find a political solution.” The Carter Center urged against a military response to possible chemical weapons use without a UN mandate, saying the action would be “illegal under international law and unlikely to alter the course of the war”, the Politico reported. “Instead, all should seek to leverage the consensus among the entire international community, including Russia and Iran, condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria and bringing under UN oversight the country’s stockpile of such weapons,” the center said in the statement. US President Barack Obama claimed on Wednesday that the Syrian government would face "international consequences" for last week's deadly chemical attack, but made clear any military response would be limited to avoid dragging the United States into another war in the Middle-East. Hundreds of people were killed and scores of others were injured in a chemical attack in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar on August 21. The foreign-backed opposition has blamed the Syrian government for the deadly attack. The Syrian government, however, has vehemently denied the accusations, saying the chemical attack was carried out by the militants themselves as a false-flag operation. The US army has moved its forces into place ahead of possible military action against Syria. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday the Syrians are waiting for the US intervention, and promise to get out of this war victorious.