France to draft UN resolution on Syria chemical arms

PARIS - France would propose a UN resolution outlining conditions to place Syrian government's chemical arms under international control and dismantle them, French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday.

"Concretely, France will propose to its partners in the UN Security Council a draft of a resolution under chapter 7 that aims at realizing immediately (France's conditions)," the minister announced.

According to Fabius, the planned resolution would set conditions for the handover of Syrian chemical weapons to international control and allowing their destruction.

France also will request "extremely serious consequences for violation of Syria's commitment" and sanctions those behind the August 21 chemical attack "who have to be brought before the International Criminal Court."

In addition, Paris would propose the establishment of a system of inspection and control under the International Organization for the Prohibition of chemical Weapons.

"It is the acceptance of such specific conditions that we will judge. (Meanwhile), all options are on the table now," Fabius said.

On August 21, the Syrian opposition claimed that some 1,300 people were killed in a chemical weapon attack by the government troops on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus, something the Syrian government strongly denied.

France and the US are on the forefront in pushing for a strong international response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syria. Damascus denied that the government were behind the attack, while Moscow repeatedly called for thorough investigation.