France to act on Syria despite British setback: Hollande

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France to act on Syria despite British setback: Hollande

(Xinhua) 19:11, August 30, 2013

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PARIS, Aug. 30 -- French President Francois Hollande on Friday said Paris would take part in any action on Syria despite a British parliamentary opposition to a government motion to authorize such act in principle.

Asked by the daily Le Monde if Paris could intervene in the Arab country without its British allies, Hollande said: "Yes. Each country is sovereign to participate or not in an operation. That is valid for Britain as it is for France."

"There are few countries that have the capacity to inflict a sanction by the appropriate means. France is one of them. We are ready. We will decide our position in close liaison with our allies," he told the local newspaper in an interview.

Hollande said that the chemical attack allegedly carried out by government forces in Syria should not be "unpunished" and that France "wants action that is in proportion and firm against the Damascus regime."

He also affirmed that he would not take to act without proves confirming reports on the alleged chemical attack pending on UN experts' findings investigations expected to quit the conflict site on Saturday.

However, a possible intervention in Syria could be launched before the parliament emergency session set for Wednesday. "If I'll engage France, the government will inform (the parliament) about the objectives and means deployed," the president said.

Hollande will hold talks with his American counterpart Barack Obama later in the day to discuss how to punish the Syrian regime already declared guilty for using chemical gas against civilians.

（Editor：DuMingming、Liang Jun）