France urges early UN vote on tough Syria resolution
President Hollande says while political and diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict is possible, option of military strikes must remain on the table.
FrenchFrench President Francois Hollande called on Sunday for a U.N. resolution on Syria backed by the threat of punitive action to be voted by the end of this week, reports Reuters.
Speaking on French prime-time television, Hollande added that while a political and diplomatic solution to the wider Syrian conflict was possible, the option of military strikes must remain on the table.
Hollande called the Russia-U.S. deal this weekend on removing Syria's chemical weapons an "important step" towards a possible political solution to its civil war.
He said the foreign ministers of France, Britain and the United States would already start to shape a resolution based on the accord at talks scheduled in Paris on Monday. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is then due to discuss it with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday.
