LOC17:35
14:35 GMT
PARIS, Aug 29 (KUNA) -- The French Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that a
meeting of the "Friends of Syria" group is likely to be soon held in the
French capital.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said in answer to questions
that such a meeting "should soon take place, but no date has yet been fixed."
In July 2012, France hosted a major meeting of the Syrian group, with over
100 delegations, in an effort to bolster support for the then Syrian National
Council, which has now been transformed into the Syrian National Coalition
(SNC).
The new SNC president, Ahmad Al-Jarba, met earlier Thursday with French
President Francois Hollande and received a strong message of political support.
Hollande also promised humanitarian, material and medical aid to the Syrian
opposition movement but he made no mention of the increase in military aid he
promised in a speech here on Tuesday, when he reacted strongly to the alleged
use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime eight days ago in Damascus.
Rather than taking an aggressive tone against the Syrian regime - as he did
last Tuesday when threatening to "punish" those who used chemical weapons -
Hollande on Thursday called for "a political solution" in Syria and for the
strengthening of the opposition SNC as a credible alternative to Bashar
Al-Assad. (End)
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