FRANCE: French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says Qatar and Saudi Arabia, among other countries, are providing Syrian rebels with weapons

Record ID: 281218

  • Title: FRANCE: French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says Qatar and Saudi Arabia, among other countries, are providing Syrian rebels with weapons
  • Date: 30th July 2012
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
  • Embargoed: 14th August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6XQE8LUY1R1L3PDN6PAPOALS
  • Story Text: France will ask for an urgent U.N. Security Council ministerial meeting on Syria to try to end the diplomatic deadlock and prevent further bloodshed, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Monday (July 30) on French radio RTL.
    President Bashar al-Assad's forces attacked rebel fighters in the city of Aleppo at the weekend, drawing condemnation from Western powers who say the authorities in Syria have lost all legitimacy.
    Branding Assad an "executioner", Fabius said the country was headed for a massacre, and urged the United Nations to do everything it can to stop the crisis.
    Fabius said Syrian rebels were being provided with weapons by countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, among others.
    Western powers have thus far been unsuccessful in ending an impasse at the U.N. over the Syrian crisis, with Russia and China trying blocking efforts to put more pressure on Assad.
    France is due to take over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, and President Francois Hollande has said he will try to convince Russia and China to support further sanctions.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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