NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has reiterated his opposition to NATO’s supply of arms to rebel forces in Syria, warning it would fan the spread of weapons in the region.

In a news conference on Monday, Rasmussen stressed the importance of a diplomatic resolution crafted by UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan. The NATO chief said his organization has no intention to intervene in the Syrian situation.

Syrian rebels asked foreign nations to provide weapons, which they say are necessary to protect themselves from the Syrian government’s bloody crackdown. But Arab League members, the U.S., France and Germany have rejected the requests.

A Syrian human rights organization claims that more than ten-thousand people have been killed since Syrian President Bashar al Assad began cracking down on antigovernment protesters in March last year.