Germany joins US, others in blaming Assad for Syrian chemical attack

BERLIN – Germany has joined the United States and ten other members of the Group of 20 biggest economies in blaming the Syrian government for a chemical attack against civilians last month.

Germany had been the only European member of the G-20 not to co-sign a joint statement issued Friday at the end of the G20 meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The statement calls for a strong international response against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad but stops short of explicitly calling for military action against the Syrian government.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Saturday in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius that Germany wanted to wait for European Union foreign ministers to agree on a common position before backing the statement.