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France, Britain to push EU to end Syria arms ban - Fabius

March 14, 2013 04:30
By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - France and Britain want an urgent European Union meeting, possibly this month, to persuade their allies to lift an embargo on supplying arms to the Syrian opposition, France's foreign minister said on Thursday. The two countries accuse Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of gambling on a military victory, and hope the threat of arming the rebels will force him into talks and a transition of power after a two-year-old conflict that is destabilising the region.

France's Fabius says Europe must drop Syria arms ban

March 13, 2013 17:45
PARIS (Reuters) - French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius kept up his push on Wednesday for Europe to ditch a ban on supplying arms to Syria, saying stepping up help to the opposition was the only way to end the bloody two-year-old crisis. "We must go further and allow the Syrian people to defend themselves against this bloody regime. It's our duty to help the Coalition, its leaders and the Free Syrian army by all means possible," Fabius wrote in the daily Liberation newspaper.

France to begin Mali troop withdrawal in March: Fabius

February 5, 2013 19:01
France expects to begin withdrawing its soldiers from Mali "starting in March, if all goes as planned", French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a newspaper interview to be published Wednesday. "I think that starting in March, if all goes as planned, the number of French troops could be reduced," Fabius told the daily Metro. Nearly 4,000 French soldiers are currently deployed in Mali in an operation against Islamist militants.

France working to 'quickly' withdraw Timbuktu forces: FM

February 4, 2013 05:00
France is working to "very quickly" withdraw its forces from Timbuktu, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday, without making clear if the troops would be sent further into the north of Mali. "We want to be rapidly relieved by the AFISMA African forces in the cities that we hold," Fabius told France Inter radio. In Timbuktu a withdrawal "could take place very quickly, we are working on it," he said.

UPDATE 1-France seeks Gulf Arab help for Mali anti-rebel push

January 15, 2013 04:15
ABU DHABI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - France expects Gulf Arab states will help an African campaign against Islamist rebels in Mali, possibly with materials or financing, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday. In response to questions from reporters on a visit to the United Arab Emirates, Fabius added that the presence of French troops on the ground in the Muslim African state would not galvanise al Qaeda recruitment in the region.
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