REUTERS

CANBERRA: France has described as a "scandal" the failure of the United Nations so far to agree a resolution against the violent crackdowns on dissidents in Syria.
"I think it's a scandal not to have a clear position of the U.N. in such a terrible crisis," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told a reporter on Sunday on a visit to Australia. He made the comment when asked about Russian resistance to a draft resolution late last month that called for sanctions against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

"We think that the regime has lost its legitimacy. We think that it's too late to implement a level of reform. We should adopt in New York a very clear resolution condemning the violence," Juppe added.

Syrian demonstrators have demanded international protection to stop civilian killings in what has become one of the most violent responses to protest of the "Arab Spring" uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.
France, Britain, the United States, Germany and Portugal circulated a draft resolution that called for sanctions against Assad, influential relatives and close associates, but it met strong resistance from Russia and China.