The White House insisted Friday that it expects to leave the G-20 economic summit with significant support for its plan to launch a military strike against Syria for its use of chemical weapons, despite deep misgivings by a number of nations.
"We don't expect every country here to agree," Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters. "But we do believe that there is a strong number of US allies and international partners who are supportive of the notion that there needs to be an international response that holds the Assad regime accountable."
The assessment came even as Russia, China, the European Union and a number of emerging economies warned about the danger of military intervention in Syria without the approval of the United Nations Security Council.
Obama spent four hours at a dinner with world leaders Thursday night -- with the focus of the dinner the situation in Syria. Rhodes said Obama pressed upon leaders "the importance of upholding international norms" against the use of chemical weapons. Rhodes said the White House believes that "the majority" of the countries believe Bashar Assad's regime was responsible for the chemical weapons -- not, as the Russians assert, the Syrian opposition.
Rhodes acknowledged many countries want a role for the UN, but said Obama emphasized that the Security Council has been "paralyzed" by vetoes from Russia and China.
"We can't have an endless process at the UN Security Council that doesn't lead to anything," he said.
Obama did meet at the dinner Thursday with one prime supporter of a military attack: Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyep Erdogan.
Syria isn't the only problem overshadowing the summit for Obama: He met on the sidelines at the dinner with Mexico's president who is also alarmed by reports of NSA surveillance on world leaders. Obama pledged to work with president Enrique Pena Nieto -- and Brazil's president, Dilma Rouseff, whom Obama met with before the dinner -- "to address concerns that they have," Rhodes said. "This is an ongoing process that we'll work through with the governments."
He rejected suggestions that the NSA revelations have complicated Obama's efforts to seek support for military action in Syria.