orenbus
08-30-2013, 06:09 AM
French president: ‘a political solution’ best to solve Syria crisis
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/08/29/syria-.html
French President Francois Hollande said “everything must be done to seek a political solution” to end the Syrian crisis after meeting with the Syrian opposition chief, Ahmed al-Jarba, who earlier championed military action against regime of President Bashar al-Assad, in Paris on Thursday.
“Everything must be done for a political solution but it will only happen if the coalition is able to appear as an alternative with the necessary force, notably from its army,” Reuters quoted Hollande as saying to reporters.
The French leader, however, said that a political solution could only happen if the international community can halt the killings and better support the Syrian opposition.
Hollande’s statement came after Jarba, head of the Syrian National Coalition, told the daily Le Parisien that he will urge the French president to prod the West to topple Assad and bring him to trial before the International Criminal Court.
A French government spokeswoman made another statement that indicates France’s retreat from a military option against Syria, saying that Western plans for retaliatory action against Assad’s regime for an alleged chemical weapons attack are “difficult to develop,” Agence France-Presse reported.
“The international community must find a riposte that is adapted to the situation,” Najat Vallaud-Belkacem told France 2 television.
She said it was “necessary to obtain the adhesion of several allies and partners at the heart of the U.N. Security Council, which we are trying to do” but added that “states like Russia and China pose a certain number of problems.”
The aim of military action “will not simply be to punish the Syrian regime and prevent it from carrying out a new attack of this type ... but also to seek a way out of this crisis.”
“It’s extremely important for the international community if it intervenes to do so in a manner that the country can recover.”
Meanwhile, Britain has been pushing for permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution which would have authorized measures to protect civilians in Syria.
On Thursday, Ministry of Defense said Britain has sent six RAF Typhoon jets to its Akrotiri base in Cyprus in a move to protect British interests as tensions grow over Syria.
“This is purely a prudent and precautionary measure to ensure the protection of UK interests and the defense of our Sovereign Base Areas at a time of heightened tension in the wider region,” AFP quoted the ministry as saying.
However, it added that the jets would not take part in any direct military action against Syria.
Syria’s most powerful international ally, Russia, said it will sent to ships to the east Mediterranean to strengthen its naval presence because of the “well-known situation” there, Reuters quoted the Interfax news agency as saying.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/syria-crisis-france-is-no-longer-shouldertoshoulder-with-us-8790541.html
François Hollande – who has to date found himself in the unusual position for a French president of being the staunchest backer of proposed American military action – appeared today to back away from immediate air strikes against Syria by talking of the importance of a “political solution” to the crisis.
After a meeting at the Elysée Palace with Ahmad al-Jarba, the leader of the Western-backed opposition group Syrian National Coalition, Mr Hollande also warned that peace would be impossible if the international community failed to “put an end” to “the escalation of violence” such as last week’s alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians in a Damascus suburb.
Overall, however, Mr Hollande’s remarks were more cautious than his previous statement on Tuesday when he said that France was “ready to punish those who took the iniquitous decision to gas innocent people”. It appears that the President has been obliged to touch the brake to stay in line with hesitations in the United States and with the parliamentary procedure started in the UK.
“Everything must be done to find a political solution but it will not arrive unless the Coalition is capable of acting as an alternative (government),” he said. “We will not get there unless the international community puts an end to this escalation of violence of which this chemical massacre is only one example.”
His remarks appeared to disappoint Mr Jarba, who called for “a punitive strike against the regime”.
France, like Britain, is said to have told the United States that it is ready to play an auxiliary role in any missiles or air strikes against Syria. French officials said that Mr Hollande is personally convinced that the gas attack near Damascus was carried out by the Assad regime.
The French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said today that the armed forces were ready to “respond to the requests and the decisions of the President once he reaches that point”. A French anti-aircraft frigate moved into the eastern Mediterranean in recent days.
President Hollande has the power to engage French forces without parliamentary approval so long as the action does not last longer than four months. Timing is, however, critical. Diplomats suggest that Mr Hollande would be reluctant to act with the US alone. Any western intervention may, therefore, have to wait until the British parliamentary procedure is completed.
French public opinion is heavily weighted against any military action in Syria – even one approved by the United Nations Security Council. Almost all senior political figures on the left and the right have approved Mr Hollande’s hints that France is ready to act with the US and the UK. The only exception is the former centre-right Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, who led France’s opposition to the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The French position is markedly different to that of 10 years ago when the government of President Jacques Chirac was derided by certain figures for its opposition to the Iraq invasion. The then US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused France of representing “old Europe” and certain elements of the American press dismissed French officials as “cheese-eating surrender monkeys”.
According to an IFOP poll, 59 per cent of French voters oppose French involvement in an air-strike in Syria. The poll found that UN action would be supported by 55 per cent of French people – so long as the French military does not take part.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/08/29/syria-.html
French President Francois Hollande said “everything must be done to seek a political solution” to end the Syrian crisis after meeting with the Syrian opposition chief, Ahmed al-Jarba, who earlier championed military action against regime of President Bashar al-Assad, in Paris on Thursday.
“Everything must be done for a political solution but it will only happen if the coalition is able to appear as an alternative with the necessary force, notably from its army,” Reuters quoted Hollande as saying to reporters.
The French leader, however, said that a political solution could only happen if the international community can halt the killings and better support the Syrian opposition.
Hollande’s statement came after Jarba, head of the Syrian National Coalition, told the daily Le Parisien that he will urge the French president to prod the West to topple Assad and bring him to trial before the International Criminal Court.
A French government spokeswoman made another statement that indicates France’s retreat from a military option against Syria, saying that Western plans for retaliatory action against Assad’s regime for an alleged chemical weapons attack are “difficult to develop,” Agence France-Presse reported.
“The international community must find a riposte that is adapted to the situation,” Najat Vallaud-Belkacem told France 2 television.
She said it was “necessary to obtain the adhesion of several allies and partners at the heart of the U.N. Security Council, which we are trying to do” but added that “states like Russia and China pose a certain number of problems.”
The aim of military action “will not simply be to punish the Syrian regime and prevent it from carrying out a new attack of this type ... but also to seek a way out of this crisis.”
“It’s extremely important for the international community if it intervenes to do so in a manner that the country can recover.”
Meanwhile, Britain has been pushing for permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution which would have authorized measures to protect civilians in Syria.
On Thursday, Ministry of Defense said Britain has sent six RAF Typhoon jets to its Akrotiri base in Cyprus in a move to protect British interests as tensions grow over Syria.
“This is purely a prudent and precautionary measure to ensure the protection of UK interests and the defense of our Sovereign Base Areas at a time of heightened tension in the wider region,” AFP quoted the ministry as saying.
However, it added that the jets would not take part in any direct military action against Syria.
Syria’s most powerful international ally, Russia, said it will sent to ships to the east Mediterranean to strengthen its naval presence because of the “well-known situation” there, Reuters quoted the Interfax news agency as saying.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/syria-crisis-france-is-no-longer-shouldertoshoulder-with-us-8790541.html
François Hollande – who has to date found himself in the unusual position for a French president of being the staunchest backer of proposed American military action – appeared today to back away from immediate air strikes against Syria by talking of the importance of a “political solution” to the crisis.
After a meeting at the Elysée Palace with Ahmad al-Jarba, the leader of the Western-backed opposition group Syrian National Coalition, Mr Hollande also warned that peace would be impossible if the international community failed to “put an end” to “the escalation of violence” such as last week’s alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians in a Damascus suburb.
Overall, however, Mr Hollande’s remarks were more cautious than his previous statement on Tuesday when he said that France was “ready to punish those who took the iniquitous decision to gas innocent people”. It appears that the President has been obliged to touch the brake to stay in line with hesitations in the United States and with the parliamentary procedure started in the UK.
“Everything must be done to find a political solution but it will not arrive unless the Coalition is capable of acting as an alternative (government),” he said. “We will not get there unless the international community puts an end to this escalation of violence of which this chemical massacre is only one example.”
His remarks appeared to disappoint Mr Jarba, who called for “a punitive strike against the regime”.
France, like Britain, is said to have told the United States that it is ready to play an auxiliary role in any missiles or air strikes against Syria. French officials said that Mr Hollande is personally convinced that the gas attack near Damascus was carried out by the Assad regime.
The French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said today that the armed forces were ready to “respond to the requests and the decisions of the President once he reaches that point”. A French anti-aircraft frigate moved into the eastern Mediterranean in recent days.
President Hollande has the power to engage French forces without parliamentary approval so long as the action does not last longer than four months. Timing is, however, critical. Diplomats suggest that Mr Hollande would be reluctant to act with the US alone. Any western intervention may, therefore, have to wait until the British parliamentary procedure is completed.
French public opinion is heavily weighted against any military action in Syria – even one approved by the United Nations Security Council. Almost all senior political figures on the left and the right have approved Mr Hollande’s hints that France is ready to act with the US and the UK. The only exception is the former centre-right Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, who led France’s opposition to the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The French position is markedly different to that of 10 years ago when the government of President Jacques Chirac was derided by certain figures for its opposition to the Iraq invasion. The then US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused France of representing “old Europe” and certain elements of the American press dismissed French officials as “cheese-eating surrender monkeys”.
According to an IFOP poll, 59 per cent of French voters oppose French involvement in an air-strike in Syria. The poll found that UN action would be supported by 55 per cent of French people – so long as the French military does not take part.