French President Francois Hollande says the option of military strikes against Syria must remain on the table, despite a deal proposed by Russia to put Damascus chemical arms under international supervision.Hollande said on French TF1 television on Sunday that the deal on Syria announced on Saturday was an important step but was not an end point.
He added that the military option must remain, otherwise there will be no constraint.
France along with the United States has been leading the push for a military offensive against Syria.
The French president further said the international community must prepare for the possibility of sanctions in case the agreement is not implemented.
Hollande made the remarks a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov clinched a deal over Syrias chemical weapons following three days of talks in Geneva.
Based on the agreement, Damascus has one week to provide international inspectors with detailed information on its chemical weapons stockpiles.
The talks in Geneva came following a proposal by Russia to Syria that the latter put its chemical weapons under international control. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem said on September 9 that his country welcomes the Russian offer.
The war rhetoric against Syria gained momentum on August 21, when the militants operating inside the country and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed that over a thousand people had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus.
The Syrian government categorically rejected the allegation, saying the militants carried out the attack to provoke foreign military intervention.
By Press TV
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