France: Syria needs more observers, backup plan

(Reuters) - France said on Thursday a U.N.-backed peace mission needed to send at least 300-400 observers to Syria to succeed - higher than previous estimates - adding foreign powers would discuss new ways to end the violence in case the mission failed.

Damascus and the United Nations agreed on Thursday on the terms for observers to enter the country to monitor a ceasefire, called more than a year after the start of an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

But many Western powers remain skeptical the mission will have the clout it needs. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier said the Syrian government had not fully withdrawn troops and heavy weapons from towns, as it had promised in a six-point plan to end the conflict and begin a political transition.

"The objective is to ask whether we can deploy an observer mission that is efficient, meaning numerous ... at least 300-400 to cover the country," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told reporters ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers gathered in Paris on Thursday under the banner of "Friends of Syria". Read More