John Kerry to meet William Hague in London for Syria talks

US Secretary of State will meet British Foreign Secretary as America continues its hardline campaign to rally support for military strike against Assad

John Kerry: rallying support for Obama’s hard line on Syria (Reuters)

John Kerry will meet William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, in London tomorrow, as the Americans continue their campaign to rally support for a military strike against the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. The US Secretary of State will arrive in the UK for talks with Mr Hague at the end of a hectic tour of European capitals, designed to encourage allies into outright condemnation of Assad over his alleged use of chemical weapons against his own people.

Mr Kerry will spend this week back in the United States, attempting to convince US politicians to support the President's hard line on Syria. But he spent Friday lobbying European Union foreign ministers in Lithuania, before moving on to Paris for talks today with Arab League states and the French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius.

The Obama administration has been disappointed with the international response to the proposal for action against Syria, particularly after British MPs refused to back a military strike. A number of leaders have raised concerns that any military action might not have a United Nations mandate, as Russia and China, both Security Council members, continue to block any resolution.

However, the French government has indicated it might provide military support, prompting Mr Kerry to praise "our oldest ally" – a pointed reference that dates back to France's role supporting America against Britain in the American Revolutionary War that began in 1776.