DHAKA: France said on Wednesday it remained determined to punish Syrian president Bashar al-Assad over what it calls his use of chemical weapons if diplomacy fails, and a military strike was still possible.

Paris put forward a draft United Nations Security Council resolution on Tuesday setting out the terms for the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons and warning of ‘serious consequences’ if it resisted, something that Russia has indicated it would not support.

‘France remains determined to punish the use of chemical weapons by Bashar al-Assad,’ government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem told RFI radio, reports The Straits Times.

‘The military option is indeed under consideration if the current diplomatic procedures fail. It is not a hypothetical threat.’

BDST: 1434 HRS, SEPT 11, 2013
RoR/BSK