France's new president, Francois Hollande, failed to win the backing of Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday for tougher U.N. sanctions aimed at ending violence in Syria, reports Reuters.
Outrage at last week's mass killings in the Syrian town of Houla prompted France to join several Western nations in stepping up pressure on Syria by expelling senior diplomats and calling on Russia to allow tougher action by the U.N. Security Council.
Ahead of Friday's talks in Paris, Hollande said he would use his first meeting with the newly elected Russian president to press Moscow, a staunch Syrian ally, to back a Security Council resolution including sanctions on Damascus.
"No solution to this crisis is possible without the departure of (President) Bashar al-Assad," Hollande told a joint news conference. "I believe that more sanctions are an essential part of a political solution."
However, Russia remains steadfastly opposed to any plan that calls for Assad to step down or be removed.
Read more of this report from Reuters.