French and UK leaders talk of need to help opposition form new government and end 'civilian toll from political stalemate'
France and Britain agree on the need to speed up the transition from President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria to a new government, French president François Hollande said after a 40-minute meeting with David Cameron at the Olympic Park in London.
"David Cameron and I are in total agreement – we must accelerate the political transition [and] help the opposition to form a government," Hollande said. He also reiterated his promise to recognise a provisional Syrian government so long as the Syrian opposition form one that is inclusive and representative.
Britain accepts there may come a point when such recognition of the disparate opposition is possible, and also accepts that this might in turn helped persuade the Russians to abandon their support for the Assad regime. But Cameron and his advisers still think it is premature to recognise an opposition that remains divided and unable to solve differences between external and internal opposition groups.
Britain has been sending non-lethal communications equipment to the opposition, but has rejected direct military aid. In France, where Hollande is under political pressure from Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, to do more, there has been some discussion of sending weapons.
Efforts are being made to structure the Free Syria Army into a more cohesive disciplined force as one way of attracting more defectors from Assad's army, and ensuring that rival militias do not lead to a divided military operation.
The Arab League is trying to encourage opposition factions to sign up to a common transition plan for a post-Assad Syria but the main exile group, the Syrian National Council, has been reluctant to take part, fearing a dilution of its influence.Both Cameron and Hollande recognised that the longer the military and political stalemate continues in Syria the more innocent civilians will be killed and the greater the risk of the conflict's implications spreading to elsewhere in the Middle East, especially Lebanon. Cameron has appointed a senior diplomat, John Wilkes, to act as his special envoy with the opposition.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, told MPs this week that he has been repeatedly stressing to Syrian opposition groups "that when a country such as ours faces an existential crisis, such as the last world war, across all parties we come together and sink all differences for the duration of the crisis. Syria is in an existential crisis and that is exactly what they need to do."
Apart from Syria, the two leaders – who have sparred over Hollande's domestic tax policies – discussed EU plans for a eurozone banking union due to be published next week, as well as a forthcoming EU summit that will assess the progress Greece is making in meeting its requirements to cut its deficit.
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