French FM: Assad and his allies taking advantage of US ‘uncertainty’

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has accused Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and his allies of exploiting the “uncertainty” in Washington following the US presidential election to launch a “total war” on Syrians, and revealed his country’s intention to invite the Group of Friends of the Syrian People to meet in Paris soon.

AFP quoted Ayrault as saying that Paris would continue to put pressure on issuing an international resolution imposing sanctions on the Assad regime for using chemical weapons, confirming that it will submit a draft resolution at the UN Security Council in this regard soon.

The French foreign minister added that Assad and his allies are taking advantage of the “uncertainty” in Washington to launch a total war on Syrians.

He said that France is currently working toward holding a meeting in Paris soon for countries that support the Syrian opposition, namely France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the United States – as well as Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, in addition to Turkey.

Ayrault urged the international community to “stop turning a blind eye” to what is happening in Syria, renewing the call for the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria and imposing sanctions against such inhumane acts.

Media reports lately revealed that France had prepared maps and coordinates in preparation for bombing sites belonging to the Syrian regime’s forces in 2013, following the Assad regime’s reported use of chemical weapons in an attack near Damascus, but US President Barack Obama’s retreat on taking military action forced France to withdrawal its plans.