Britain could still wage military action in Syria as Russia continues to bombard the stricken city of Aleppo,
said today.
MPs
before
on ISIS strongholds in the country last December.
The
today claimed Russian raids in support of al-Assad had beefed-up calls for fresh action in the war-ravaged nation.
Revealing he would host crunch talks in London on Sunday with US Secretary of State John Kerry and the French and German foreign ministers, Mr Johnson told MPs: “We will be talking about all the options that we think are available to us and to the West.
“I am not going to pretend that there is any easy answer here, because there isn’t.
“Most people, I think, are now changing their minds about this and they are thinking, ‘We can’t let this go on for ever, we can’t just see Aleppo pulverised in this way, we have to do something’.
“Whether that means we can get a coalition together now for more kinetic action now, I cannot prophesy, but certainly what most people want to see is a new set of options.”
The Prime Minister’s spokeswoman said Theresa May would “weigh up very carefully any options that were put forward and the potential consequences of those”.
MPs have
to protect civilians from Syrian and Kremlin jets.
But critics have warned policing an exclusion area could see the RAF forced to shoot down a Russian warplane.
Mr Johnson told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee to be “realistic” about what could be done.
“It is right now we should be looking again at the more kinetic options and the military options, but we must be realistic about how these in fact work and what is deliverable,” he said.
“Certainly you can’t do anything without a coalition with the Americans.
“I think we are still a pretty long day’s march from getting that, but that doesn’t mean that discussions aren’t going on because they certainly are.”
He added: “It is vital we do not raise false hopes. We know the
, no matter how easy these concepts may be made to seem.
“If there is more we can reasonably and practically do together with our allies, then of course we should consider these measures - and believe me that work is already going on.”
, saying Britain had “a very serious problem” with his regime.
Sanctions against Moscow over its 2014 annexation of the Crimea and support for anti-government forces in Ukraine were “biting”, said the Tory Minister.
He dismissed suggestions of a
, but branded Russia “reckless and aggressive”.
“We have a very serious problem but we have to engage with Russia, we have to persuade the Russian government, we have to persuade Vladimir Putin, that there is another path for him and for his government,” he added.
“If he continues on the present path of barbarism then I am afraid Russia is in danger of being reduced to the status of a rogue nation, and I think that would be tragedy.”
The PM's spokeswoman later said there were "no plans" for military action.
