Speaking to the BBC's Jeremy Bowen, Syrian Deputy
Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said terrorism would flourish everywhere
if the US attacked Syria
Any US military action against Syria would amount to "support for al-Qaeda and its affiliates," Damascus has said.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad also told the
BBC that armed groups backed by America had used chemical weapons - not
Syrian troops.
The US earlier said it had evidence that Damascus had used the nerve agent sarin in a deadly attack last week.
President Barack Obama has vowed punitive action but wants Congress to vote on the issue first.
US lawmakers are due to reconvene next week, and White House officials have said they believe they will support the president.
President Obama has taken the biggest gamble of his presidency.
His decision to put off an attack on Syria and seek
authorisation from Congress apparently stunned some of his closest
advisers.
Victory is by no means assured, particularly in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Perhaps the Senate isn't safe either - this will be a free
vote and there'll be no formal attempt by party leaders to persuade
their colleagues.
After receiving a lengthy classified intelligence briefing on
Capitol Hill, several senators and congressmen seemed unconvinced.
The draft resolution from the White House calls for
authorisation for action to "deter, disrupt, prevent and degrade"
Syria's ability to use chemical weapons: two senators - one Republican,
one Democrat - called that too open-ended.
If Congress doesn't back him, it will be disastrous for the president.
Campaigning to convince people
and politicians that military intervention is the right way forward has
already begun in America, correspondents say.
But by putting off an attack and seeking congressional
approval, President Obama has taken the biggest gamble of his
presidency, the BBC's North America editor Mark Mardell says.
He adds that if Congress does not back him, it would be
disastrous for the president and his decision to call for a vote would
look foolish.
In other developments:
- Arab League foreign ministers urged the world community to
"take the deterrent and necessary measures" against Syria. But several
members - including Lebanon and Iraq - did not back the call
- Jordan - a key US ally in the region - ruled out joining any US-led coalition against Damascus
- French PM Jean-Marc Ayrault is due to meet parliamentary
leaders to brief them on possible strikes. Paris earlier pledged to
support America's action
UN experts have gathered evidence in Syria to determine
whether chemical weapons attacks have taken place on various occasions.
They are now analysing samples.
The biggest and deadliest apparent attacks took place on 21
August in eastern suburbs of Damascus. The US says more than 1,400
people were killed, including 426 children.
'Hatred for Americans'
Mr Mekdad told the BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Damascus: "Any attack
against Syria is support for al-Qaeda and its affiliates, whether Jabat
al-Nusra or the State of Islam in Syria and Iraq."
End Quote
Jim Himes
Democratic Representative
Jabat al-Nusra and other groups
linked to al-Qaeda have come to play a significant role in the fight
against President Assad's government.
Mr Mekdad - who is considered to be highly influential within
President Bashar al-Assad's government - also warned that possible US
intervention would deepen "hatred for the Americans" and destabilise the
whole Middle East.
He said that Mr Obama's surprise decision to seek
congressional approval for strikes showed that he had not thought
through all the "consequences".
But he added: "This did not change anything, since he (President Obama) is determined to launch an attack".
As for a vote in Congress, Mr Mekdad said it would base its decision on whether attacking Syria was in the interests of Israel.
'Case is building'
US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday that Washington had evidence that sarin was used in the 21 August attacks.
John Kerry: "We have signatures of sarin in hair and blood samples."
He said samples from hair and blood gathered afterwards had "tested positive for signatures of sarin".
Mr Kerry implied that the US evidence was supplied by its own sources, rather than via the UN inspectors.
"In the last 24 hours, we have learned through samples that
were provided to the United States that have now been tested from first
responders in east Damascus and hair samples and blood samples have
tested positive for signatures of Sarin," Mr Kerry said on NBC's Meet
The Press.
The US
has previously said it had similar evidence of sarin use in other attacks.
Mr Kerry also said he was confident Congress would give its approval for the US to launch strikes against Syria.
Congressmen "will do what is right because they understand
the stakes", he said, declining to explain whether Mr Obama would press
ahead even if Congress voted against.
However, some lawmakers have expressed doubts about Mr Obama's plan for a "limited, narrow" operation.
"I'm still very sceptical. It is not clear to me that we know
what the results of this attack will be, meaning, will it be
effective?" said Jim Himes, a Democratic member of the House of
Representatives.
"It's not clear to me what response might be undertaken by
Iran, by the Syrians, against Israel, against us, in the realm of
terrorism. It is also not at all clear that we've got any really,
international, support," he added.
Syria is known to have extensive supplies of chemical weapons.
Mr Obama has often said that using them would cross a "red line", prompting US intervention.
Damascus has been fighting rebel forces since March 2011.
More than 100,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict, and at least 1.7 million have become refugees.
Forces which could be used against Syria:
•
Five US destroyers are in the eastern
Mediterranean, equipped with cruise missiles. The missiles can also be
fired from submarines, but the US Navy does not reveal their locations
•
Airbases at Incirlik and Izmir in Turkey, and in Jordan, could be used to carry out strikes
•
Two aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz and USS Harry S Truman are in the wider region
•
French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is currently in Toulon in the western Mediterranean
•
French Rafale and Mirage aircraft can also operate from Al-Dhahra airbase in the UAE
