The chief of NATO dismissed suggestions that the military alliance would intervene to stop the conflict in Syria at a press conference here Friday.

"I understand the question, but Libya and Syria are two very different things," said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in response to journalists' questions over why NATO does not intervene in Syria given its operation in Libya, which ended Monday.

"We said 'yes' to and undertook responsibility for the operation in Libya because firstly, there was a clear UN mandate to protect the civilian population against attack, secondly because we got active support from countries in the region," he added.

NATO received a United Nations mandate to impose a no-fly zone over Libya and protect its civilians as well as the backing from the Arab League, but has not received any such approval in Syria's case, Rasmussen explained.

"Neither of these conditions exist when it comes to Syria. But having said that, I would like to condemn in the strongest possible terms the Syrian security forces' behavior and their attacks on the civil population," he said.

Syria has witnessed massive anti-government protests across the country since mid-March and a subsequent crackdown by its armed forces.

Rasmussen went on to say that there is "only one way forward in Syria" and that was to respect the population's wishes on freedom and democracy.

He added that the case of Libya -- where erstwhile leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled by an opposition revolt along with NATO air strikes -- sends a "clear signal to the world's dictators."

Rasmussen, who previously served as Denmark's Prime Minister from 2001-2009, was in Denmark during his tour to meet leaders of NATO member countries.

Here he met Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt for the first time since she was elected to the post in mid-September. The two leaders discussed NATO's missions in Libya and Afghanistan and the up-coming NATO summit in Chicago, the United States, in May 2012.

Denmark has actively contributed to NATO missions in recent years, including sending six F-16 fighter jets and personnel to the Libya mission. It continues to contribute to the NATO military action in Afghanistan and to a NATO-led anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.

Yet Rasmussen believed NATO stands at an important juncture. It needs to modernize, but funding constraints owing to financial crisis in the European Union and globally continue to impact how it chooses and undertakes its operations.

He advocated "smarter defense" as a solution, where countries "join forces instead of trying to find purely national solutions" to their defense needs, he said.

Thorning-Schmidt, who hosted the press conference, agreed with Rasmussen's proposal. "That also interests us in Denmark, and is a good example of how we can strengthen our engagement with NATO," she said.

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