More controversially, Gauck proclaimed the need for Security Council authorization of any use of force, but also hinted at a Kosovo precedent for possible military intervention in Syria. As he put it, when the international community confronts a clear case for the use of force to protect a population from its own government, but the Security Council is divided, “the relationship between legality and legitimacy will continue to be awkward.”
更具争议的是，高克提出任何武力行动都需要安理会的授权，但他也暗示科索沃可以作为军事干预叙利亚的先例。他指出，当国际社会面临显而易见的局面，需要使用武力保护人民不受本国政府伤害，但联合国安理会又无法形成统一意见时，“合法性与合理性之间的关系就会成为阻碍因素。”