OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says he’s in constant contact with international partners to discuss the threat of terrorists getting their hands on stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons in Syria.

There are reports al-Qaida has been trying to hijack the Syrian revolution.

“We are concerned that there are radical undesirables coming into the country to support the revolution,” Baird told reporters following a meeting with Syrian opposition members in Ottawa on Wednesday.

Syria acknowledged for the first time on Monday it possesses chemical and biological weap- ons. Officials said they wouldn’t be used against rebels, but could be used if the country faced “external aggression.”

“With respect to the significant chemical and biological stockpiles, this is an issue which I have talked closely with some of my counterparts about,” Baird said. “We are concerned about two things. One, we are concerned about them being used against the Syrian people. And two, we are concerned about their security both before and after the regime would fall. This is something that has our active attention.”

Baird said Canada “can and wants to do more” to assist with humanitarian aid for Syria, but he didn’t provide a dollar figure.

Canada has already committed $8.5 million in humanitarian aid to Syria since the revolution began in March 2011.

The United Nations has said $382 million is required for aid, but only a quarter of that has been pledged so far.

International pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has mounted in the last week after a rebel offensive and bomb attack killed four members of his inner circle in Damascus.