France rejects Russia's Syria resolution

Russia's draft U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria is unacceptable to France, but Moscow's recognition that the body must react to the bloodshed is a positive step, France's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.   

Russia unexpectedly presented a new, beefed-up draft resolution on the violence in Syria to the security council on Thursday. Western envoys said the text was too weak even though it expanded and toughened previous Russian drafts.   

Both Russia and China vetoed a West European draft resolution in October that contained a threat of sanctions.   

"For France, it is a positive development that Russia has decided to recognise that the serious deterioration of the situation in Syria merits a Security Council resolution," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told a regular news briefing.   

Describing the blockage in the security council as scandalous, Valero said that a U.N. resolution should be quickly adopted condemning crimes against humanity in Syria and supporting a credible, political solution.   

Reuters