Britain and France have said they are not ruling out any options in Syria, including a military-enforced no-fly zone to protect thousands of civilians fleeing the escalating civil war.William Hague, Britains foreign secretary, told a joint news conference in New York with Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, that a Turkish proposal for a safe zone would require military intervention.Were ruling nothing out and we have contingency planning for a wide range of scenarios, he said, speaking on Thursday ahead of a UN Security Council now under way to discuss how to ease Syrias humanitarian crisis.Asked whether the options included a NATO-enforced no-fly zone without security council authorisation, he repeated: We are not ruling out any options.We also have to be clear that anything like a safe zone requires military intervention and that of course is something that has to be weighed very carefully.Fabius said Paris and London were in complete unity ... on this point.Following the news conference, the UN said any proposals to set up to secure safe zones raised serious questions andwould need to be studied carefully.Such proposals raise serious questions and require careful and critical consideration, said UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson.France, which is president of the Security Council for August, convened Thursdays meeting, which is also being attended by ministers from Syrias neighbours Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.If Assad falls quickly, then the reconstruction can take place, but if sadly the conflict continues then we have to examine various solutions, said Fabius. We have to be realistic.The two countries announced an increase in their humanitarian aid - $4.74m from London and $6.25m from Paris - and called on other states to boost their commitments.Fabius said Paris was channeling some of its aid to areas of Syria no longer under government control so that local communities can self-govern, encouraging people not to flee to neighbouring countries.
