Egypt opposes the use of military force to settle the crisis in Syria, President Mohamed Morsi said on Wednesday as he was speaking at the UN General Assembly.

Morsi said Egypt would support such efforts to prevent a catastrophe in Syria that would “rule out the danger of foreign military intervention.”

On Tuesday, the emir of Qatar called for Arab military intervention in Syria.

The Syrian conflict has claimed up to 20,000 lives according to estimates by various Syrian opposition groups. The UN estimates the death toll at over 18,000 people. The Syrian authorities say 8,000 were killed.

The West is pushing for President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster while Russia and China are trying to prevent outside interference in Syria, saying that the Assad regime and the opposition are both to blame for the bloodshed.