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DAMASCUS: France accused Syria of “crimes against humanity” on Wednesday, as activists said regime forces killed at least 20 people, including 17 in a tank-backed raid on the flashpoint city of Homs.
“The Syrian regime has committed crimes against humanity,” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said during talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
“The way it (the Syrian regime) suppressed the popular protests is unacceptable,” he said, expressing hope that Russia would change its stance and back UN condemnation of the crackdown.
The Syrian authorities, he said, should be sent “a powerful signal that such actions cannot continue.” But Lavrov gave no signs of being ready to ease a Russian position that last week saw Moscow lash the European Union for imposing a crippling oil embargo on Syria.
“We are convinced that the essential thing is to start dialogue at the talks table,” Lavrov said.
“We consider that inciting certain forces within the opposition to boycott the invitation to dialogue is a dangerous path and risks a repetition of the Libyan scenario, which neither Russia nor France wants.”
Russia has staunchly opposed attempts by Western governments to push through a UN Security Council resolution targeting President Bashar al-Assad and has circulated an alternative draft calling for him to implement reforms.
European Union nations are considering fresh sanctions against Syria, a diplomatic source who asked not to be identified said in Brussels.
“There is preliminary political agreement” between EU nations on slapping a ban on oil-sector related investment as part of a seventh round of sanctions against the Assad regime, the source said.
Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Damascus, Robert Ford, said in a posting on Facebook that Assad's regime “bears the responsibility for the violence.” The United Nations says 2,200 people have been killed since democracy protests flared in Syria in mid-March.
