France rejects Syrian regime's proposals as manoeuvre

France on Tuesday dismissed as a "dilatory manoeuvre" the five-point document submitted earlier by the Syrian regime during the Geneva II talks aimed at ending the Syrian conflict. "This five-point communique in no way corresponds to the agenda set by the Secretary General of the United Nations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said in a briefing. "For France, the position expressed by the Syrian regime is a dilatory manoeuvre," he added, noting that the document does not address the objective set out by the international community, "which is that of a transition" in Syria. The Geneva II talks were halted Tuesday after the morning session and the afternoon session was cancelled. The parties are scheduled to resume discussions on Wednesday and Nadal said France wanted to negotiations to resume. "There is a positive point. The negotiations are being pursued. France is very attached to these negotiations and their positive outcome, meaning the putting in place of a transition," the French official remarked. But he said that future discussions must be resumed within the framework set out by the UN Secretary General. Nadal also urged progress on "confidence measures" to help alleviate the humanitarian tragedy in Syria, where several million people are now internally displaced and many are in need of basic supplies and medical treatment. "Thus we await from the Geneva process both significant progress towards a political transition and urgent humanitarian measures to relieve the suffering of the Syrian population," the spokesman affirmed