French FM vows tough response if Syria uses chemical weapons September 3, 2012 - 12:34 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - France's Foreign Minister says Western powers are preparing a tough response in case Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime deploys chemical or biological weapons in its civil war. The Associated Press reports that speaking on RMC radio Monday, Sept. 3, Laurent Fabius said "we are discussing this notably with our American and English partners" and "our response ... would be massive and blistering." Fabius says Russia and China are "of the same position," but acknowledged frustration at their continuing support for Assad. Syria's leadership has said it could use chemical or biological weapons if it were attacked from outside. Syria is believed to have nerve agents as well as mustard gas and Scud missiles capable of delivering these lethal chemicals. Partner news  Top stories U.S. officials say they want to advance efforts to start talks between the Syrian government and opposition leaders. The international conference, backed by Russia and the U.S., aims to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria. Nuland, a career foreign service officer who was until recently State's top spokesperson, was expected to be nominated the post. Alkhatib said Assad should respond within 20 days and that he should then be given a month to dissolve parliament.   Partner news |  Latest news Israeli security expert says Syrian hacker attack foiled  Israel refuses to comment on the strike but officials at the time said Iranian missiles set for Hezbollah were hit.Gyumri to host Europe Day celebrations The celebrations will feature a small information fair, with EU project representatives to brief the visitors on the initiatives launched.1st Armenian interactive fairy tale available for iPhone/iPod Touch The tale sparked great interest in Diaspora. Such projects, namely interactive version of “Alice in Wonderland”, are popular abroad.Expert says Russian FM’s remarks in context of Madrid Principles No decisive developments will follow the meeting between Russian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, David Jamalyan said. |
