France remains 'mobilised' for Syria invention

The French government on Wednesday said the military option to act in Syria was still being kept open if a diplomatic solution failed. Speaking to RFI radio, government spokesperson Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said "France remains determined to punish the use of chemical weapons by Bashar al-Assad. The military option is indeed under consideration if the current diplomatic procedures fail. It is not a hypothetical threat." French President Francois Hollande earlier said Paris "remained in constant contact with its partners, mobilized to penalize the use of chemical arms used by the Syrian regime and to dissuade it not to use them again." "France will explore all ways to reach faster effective and real monitoring of these chemical weapons in Syria," he noted. On Aug. 21, the Syrian opposition claimed that some 1,300 people were killed in a chemical weapon attack by the government troops on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus, something the Syrian government strongly denied. France and the U.S. are on the forefront in pushing for a strong international response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syria. Damascus denied that the government was behind the attack, while Moscow repeatedly called for thorough investigation. On Tuesday, Paris said it would introduce a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council based on a Russian proposal for Syria to allow inspection and control of its chemical weapons. The proposed resolution -- under Chapter 7 of the UN charter -- covered possible military and non-military action to maintain or restore international peace and security.