Talks on terror listing of Syria's al-Nusra group

French officials indicated on Friday that talks were ongoing with France's "partners" about what approach and eventual action to take regarding Syria's opposition Al-Nusra group, which was officially linked this week with Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Two days ago, an affiliation was publicly established between Al-Qaeda and Al-Nusra, which has been placed on the US terrorist organisation list for some time now. But European Union countries have not yet addressed this issue, although they too have a joint terrorist group listing on which Al-Qaeda has been placed. France said that it was anxious to avoid any radicalisation of opposition movements in Syria but that President Bashar Al-Assad was using radicalism to garner support. "The longer the conflict goes on, the more radicalisation there will be and the more Al-Assad will try to look like the last rampart against extremism," Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said in a briefing. Lalliot explained that there were "several paths" to seeking to outlaw a radical group but the most logical one appeared to be through the UN Security Council. Lalliot said that "talks are beginning" in the 27 nations of the EU but there are not yet any "procedures or deadlines." Commenting Al-Nusra's evaluation and possible banning, Lalliot said that this "must be envisaged. It must be discussed." No formal talks have been initiated in New York, where the "Al-Nusra" question will certainly be brought before the sanctions committee, specifically Committee 1267 which dealt with the Al-Qaeda terror listing and sanctions through UNSC resolution 1267. The sanctions committee is composed of the 15 members of the UN Security Council and unanimity is required to list an organisation or group as a terrorist entity. "This is one solution being discussed," the French spokesman said. If the UN approves the listing of Al-Nusra, then this would be applied internationally but could also be integrated and even reinforced in EU legislation. Syria is threatening to submit its own demand to Committee 1267 at the UN, but France said it would block any Syrian attempt to "manipulate" the situation or seek to "assimilate all of the opposition with terrorists."