Alain Juppe Live Blog

Top US, European and Arab diplomats have started talks on how to bolster an international mission to end the bloodshed in Syria. The meeting comes after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said Syria's government was not fulfilling its obligations in a cease-fire.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe opened the Paris meeting  on Thursday by saying that failure to fully apply special envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan "would be catastrophic" and would mean "the road to civil war or even regional war".

Juppe urged "several hundred'' international monitors who could  "clearly judge the effectiveness of the Annan plan.''

Ban said Thursday that the situation in the Arab country is "highly precarious'' and that attacks are on the rise despite the truce.

France insisted on Friday that any UN Security Council resolution on Syria must go beyond calling for a truce and push for a political transition, with President Bashar al-Assad taking a unilateral step to stop the violence.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said in an interview in Le Monde newspaper these were "red lines" for France and said he saw "a slight evolution" in the position of Russia, the most outspoken opponent of demands for regime change in Syria.

Russia has called for both government and opposition forces to agree a ceasefire and insisted there must be no precondition to a political dialogue, such as Assad's exit from power.

"I have two red lines. I cannot accept that we put the oppressors and victims in the same boat. The regime must initiate the cessation of hostilities," Juppe told Le Monde.

"The second red line: we cannot be satisfied with just a humanitarian and ceasefire resolution. There must be a reference to a political settlement based on the Arab League proposal."

UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who visited Assad in Syria, was to brief the UN Security Council via video link later on Friday. 

France said on Monday that Russia's presidential election had been far from "exemplary" and urged further democratic reforms, but said it stood ready to work with president-elect Vladimir Putin.

Reports by the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) highlighted problems with Sunday's election, after official results showed Prime Minister Putin had won with almost 64 per cent of the vote. 

"The election has not been exemplary. That is the least you can say. The OSCE made significant criticisms," French Foreign Alain Juppe told a news conference in the southwestern city of Bordeaux.

"Putin has been re-elected by a large majority, so France, and her European partners, will pursue its partnership with Russia," he added. 

France wants to see Syria dragged before an international court of justice, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said.

Juppe, speaking during a break in talks between EU foreign ministers, said he would plead for legal action during a visit later Monday in Geneva, where he will attend the United Nations Human Rights Council.

[Source: AFP]