CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it was time for the world to do everything it could to prevent aggression against the Syrian people, and that it would back a U.S. strike on Syria if the Syrian people did.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal made his comments as the United States prepares strikes against the Syrian government, blaming it for a chemical gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians.

“We call upon the international community with all its power to stop this aggression against the Syrian people,” Faisal said in Cairo, where he was attending a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers to discuss Syria.

On the prospect of a U.S. strike, he said: “We stand by the will of the Syrian people. They know best their interests, so whatever they accept, we accept, and whatever they refuse, we refuse.” The meeting was expected formally to blame Assad for the gas attack.

(This story was refiled to change day to Sunday in first paragraph)