US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the UN to use the threat of sanctions to help implement change in Syria, whilst President Bashar Al-Assad suffered the setback of the defection of his most senior generals.
Addressing the Friends of Syria meeting in Paris, the US diplomat also outlined Russia and China as the main obstacles on the way to peace in Syria.
The French President, Francois Hollande echoed the US calls, while the Syrian opposition pushed for a no fly zone.
Speaking at Geneva last week, Clinton expressed the need for more pressure on Syria.
’It is imperative to go back to the Security Council and demand implementation of Kofi Annan’s plan including the Geneva communique that Russia and China have already agreed to.’ Clinton said.
China and Moscow were both absent for these meetings, although an anonymous Russian diplomatic source insisted that ‘Russian political and security circles were changing their position’.
