There is still time to find a political solution of the Syrian crisis and avoid a civil war in the country, French President Francois Hollande said on Saturday.
"We have to find a political position that avoids civil war. There is still time, it is high time," Hollande said in his Bastille Day interview.
The French leader also urged Russia and China not to oppose UN sanctions against Syria.
"I told [Russian President Vladimir] Putin … that I respect their [Russian-Syrian] commercial and historical ties but the worst thing that could happen is a civil war in Syria," Holland said.
Moscow and Beijing have twice vetoed Security Council resolutions that so much as hinted at sanctions again the Assad government.
The 15 UN Security Council member states began talks on Thursday on a Syria resolution designed to force the government of President Bashar al-Assad and opposition forces to lay down arms and begin negotiations to end the 17 months of violence in Syria.
The conflict, which began in March last year, has left between 13,000 and 17,000 people dead, according to Syrian rights activists quoted by the United Nations.
The United States, France, Britain and Germany have drafted a resolution that would give the Assad government ten days to comply with a previously agreed peace plan of face punishment ranging from diplomatic and economic sanctions to the use of military force under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.
Russia said on Thursday it would veto the Western-backed draft if it is put to a vote at the UN Security Council.
Russia has proposed its own draft resolution that would extend a UN monitoring mission to Syria for 90 days, without any threat of sanctions. France’s UN Ambassador Gerard Araud said the Russian draft “has no teeth” and would fail to bring about any positive change in Syria.
