OTTAWA, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister John Baird said Wednesday it's unclear yet how Canada could contribute to a possible military intervention of Syria and he questioned the country's military capability.
Baird made the remarks after meeting George Sabra, leader of the opposition Syrian National Council in Montreal amid intensified talks of possible strikes on Syria.
The minister said that while keeping close contact with its allies and reviewing a full-range of options going forward, Ottawa will let decisions be made before it knows whether it has even the capacity to contribute militarily.
"I think some have speculated in the media and elsewhere that it could involve cruise missiles or armed drones, neither of which Canada has," he said.
Canada has so far resisted any military assistance to the Syrian rebels or the prospect of partaking in armed strikes, preferring to offer humanitarian help.
Baird said since June G8 summit, Canada has allocated 48 million out of the 90 million Canadian dollars' pledge to help the Syrian people with emergency food assistance.
On Monday, he said in Toronto that Canada believes that the only way to halt the bloodshed in Syria is through a political solution.
"We understand that this solution is becoming more and more difficult as the crisis enters a very dangerous new phase," he said.
In a phone conversation on Tuesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed with U.S. President Barack Obama that "significant use of chemical weapons merits a firm response from the international community in an effective and timely manner."
Sabra, whose coalition is based in Istanbul, Turkey, has been meeting members of the Syrian-Canadian community in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto since late last week.
In contrast to Baird, Sabra said he no longer believes a political solution is possible, when so many Syrians have been killed or forced from their homes.
On Aug. 21, the Syrian opposition claimed that some 1,300 people were killed in a chemical weapon attack carried out by Syrian army on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus. The Syrian government denied the accusation.
The UN chemical investigation team, originally scheduled to spend up to 14 days, with a possible extension, was currently probing the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria upon the request of the Syrian government.
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