Hollande says to seek political transition in Syria

2012-08-11 16:19:09 GMT2012-08-12 00:19:09(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

PARIS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- French President Francois Hollande on Saturday stressed Paris' commitment to help pave the way to a political transition in Syria to stop the bloodshed in the Arab country.

Attending the funeral ceremony of the 88th French solider killed in Afghanistan, Hollande said "(Syrian) regime was motivated only by its fear of its own end."

"It is a humanitarian duty that we are pressing on in addition to support the Syrian opposition and also the obstinate search of a political transition in Syria," the president added.

Hollande recalled Paris deployment of a military medical and surgical group in the Jordanian-Syrian border to help refugees.

The Socialist head of state's remarks came after his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy criticized his inaction in Syria. Sarkozy urged the international community to act quickly, likening Syrian conflict with Libyan war when he pressed on a military operation to help local insurgents to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

France, which holds the rotating chair of the U.N. Security Council for August, planned to chair a ministerial meeting of Council members at the end of this month focusing mainly on the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

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