Canada joins call for stronger Syrian sanctions
Posted July 6, 2012 11:57 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Foreign affairs minister John Baird says Russia must stop blocking UN efforts to force Syrian President Bashar Assad from power.
Baird joined U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and senior officials from about 100 other countries in Paris to bolster support for a Syrian transition plan unveiled last week by UN mediator Kofi Annan.
They also demanded that Russia and China stop using their UN vetoes to block actions against the Assad regime.
Moscow and Beijing did not take part in the meeting.
The meeting came as anti-regime activists said Assad’s forces killed at least 25 people, arrested scores more and torched dozens of homes while seizing a northern city from rebels.
Activists say the death toll after some 16 months of bloodshed has reached more than 14,000.
With files from The Associated Press
