France urges Russia to speed up talks on Syria resolution

France on Wednesday called on Russia to speed up negotiations on a new draft United Nations resolution on Syria, M&C News reports.

Russia and China, Syria's traditional allies, last week submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council, condemning both Bashar al-Assad's regime and the demonstrators for the violence that has engulfed the country since March.

Although the text reflected a tougher stance, European diplomats rejected the draft, saying it equated Assad's regime and the demonstrators.

A French Foreign Ministry spokesman urged Russia to 'accelerate' negotiations on a revised text.

He also called on Syria to accept the 'immediate deployment' of the observer mission. An advance team of observers is expected to arrive in Syria on Thursday.