Assad must answer for Syria abuses - Austria
Fri, 9 Dec 2011 18:37 GMT
* Vienna says Assad must step down
* Meeting with opposition figure not recognition - spokesman (Adds full comments from Foreign Ministry)
VIENNA, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must step down immediately and be held accountable for any human rights abuses committed during a crackdown on opposition protesters, Austria's Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said on Friday.
As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Austria had a duty to help highlight the "atrocities of the regime" and to ensure they are judged at an international level, he said in a statement after meeting Syria's main opposition leader.
"There can be no impunity. Assad will have to answer for his offences," Spindelegger said after meeting Syrian National Council leader Burhan Ghalioun in Vienna.
"President Assad's latest comments show once again that he is either a cold-blooded cynic or that he lives in an absurd fantasy world," he added, urging Assad to step down to allow a power transition.
The Syrian leader earlier this week denied ordering his troops to kill peaceful demonstrators.
Ghalioun was in Vienna to rally support for the 260-member Syrian National Council and said he had urged military defectors to limit their actions to defending anti-government protesters.
Spindelegger stopped short of recognising Ghalioun's council as the legitimate opposition. His spokesman said that the meeting was still a sign of political support.
"Our message was precisely that we would like to see a united opposition in Syria based on a common understanding of the direction the country should take in the future," spokesman Alexander Schallenberg said. (Reporting by Sylvia Westall)
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