Hollande: France To Arm Syria Rebels

Local Editor

French president Francois Hollande announced for the first time that "Paris will arm Syrian rebels in a controlled framework given that they were now caught between the Syrian government on one side and radicals on the other."

Hollande told a news conference:

"I assess that the Russians regularly send them [weapons to the reigme], but we will do it in a broader context with a number of countries and in a framework that can be controlled because we cannot accept that weapons could fall into the hands of "jihadists" that we have fought against here [in Mali]," he added.

Speaking on his way back to Paris after a visit to the Malian capital Bamako, Hollande said there was a planned "meeting with the Iranian president, at his request, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting."
The meeting would be the first of its kind between heads of state from the two countries in years, diplomats travelling with Hollande told reporters.

Earlier on Thursday, UN chief Ban Ki-moon held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, during which the Syrian conflict was also discussed.

Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said the secretary-general and Zarif had discussed the role Tehran could play in promoting a political solution to the conflict in Syria.
Zarif told reporters he had a "good meeting" with the UN leader.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team