Sarkozy Urges Medvedev to Back Arab Plan for Syria, Moscow Warns against 'Unilateral' Steps

French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday urged his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to give full support to an Arab League peace plan to persuade Bashar al-Assad to quit as Syria's leader.

During a phone conversation, Sarkozy also told Medvedev of "the necessity to increase the pressure on the Syrian regime to cease its brutal repression of the Syria people," said a statement from the French president's office.

The Kremlin confirmed the two men had discussed the crisis in Syria and said the Russian president had updated Sarkozy on the outcome of a mission to Damascus on Tuesday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"The president of France has been informed about Russian efforts aimed at an urgent cessation of any violence in Syria through the launch of all-encompassing dialogue between conflicting parties and the promotion of democratic changes in this country," said Medvedev's office.

"At the request of Mr. Sarkozy, the Russian president let him know the results of the talks" between Lavrov and Assad.

"Medvedev called on partners to avoid hasty, unilateral steps," the Kremlin said.

Lavrov has said that Assad told him he was "fully committed" to ending the bloodshed in Syria where rights groups say some 6,000 people have been killed since an uprising began 11 months ago.

His mission came after Russia and China vetoed a U.N. resolution criticizing Assad's crackdown on opponents to his rule.

The Arab League plan, which envisages Assad transferring power to his deputy and the formation of a national unity government within two months, has been firmly rejected by Syria.

Medvedev earlier on Wednesday urged further efforts to find a solution to the Syrian crisis, including at the United Nations Security Council.

Medvedev stressed "the necessity of continuing -- including at the U.N. Security Council -- a search for coordinated approaches to help the Syrians regulate the crisis themselves" , the Kremlin said in a statement.

In a phone call with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Medvedv said that the crisis must be resolved "without outside interference, with complete respect for the sovereignty of Syria," the Kremlin said.

Russia last week used its veto at the Security Council to block U.N. action on Syria, a decision that Medvedev described as justified, arguing the resolution would not have promoted a peaceful conclusion to the conflict.

The proposed resolution "did not allow us to make unbiased assessments of the situation in Syria or to ensure that the call for a ceasefire and an end to bloodshed was addressed to both sides," Medvedev was quoted as saying.

"Such a resolution would not have promoted the search for a peaceful way out of the crisis."

For his part, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday: "Of course we condemn violence from whichever side it comes, but we must not behave like a bull in a china shop. We need to allow people to decide their own fate independently."

The Russian strongman, who is standing for a third presidential term on March 4, spoke after Lavrov met Assad for talks in Damascus on Tuesday.

Talking to religious leaders during his presidential campaign, Putin warned that intervention in Syria could lead to a situation similar to that in Libya after the overthrow of its leader Moammar Gadhafi.

"I know very well the quality of the regime in Libya and it was talked about a lot. But today for some reason no one shows or talks about what is happening in Sirte and other cities that supported the former leader," he said.

"Terrible crimes are happening there ... These are the awful consequences of outside interference, most of all when it is armed."

"No doubt we should give the peoples of these countries an opportunity to decide these problems independently," he was quoted as saying, referring to both Syria and Libya.

"Our task is to help them do it without any outside interference," he said.

Russia's top diplomat Lavrov at a news conference earlier on Wednesday pointedly sidestepped a question from a reporter who asked him whether Russia had asked Assad to go.

"Any outcome of national dialogue should be the result of agreement between the Syrians themselves and should be acceptable to all Syrians," Lavrov told journalists.

All those who have influence over the Syrian opposition forces should urge them to start negotiations with Assad's government, he added.

Lavrov, who was given a hero's welcome by Assad's supporters in Damascus, also said that recalling envoys from Damascus would not help the Arab League's plan.

"I do not think that recalling ambassadors helps create conditions that would be favorable to the realization of the Arab League's plan, he said.

He said the Syrian people themselves must decide his fate and called for Syrian opposition forces to start negotiations with Assad's government to come up with a solution to the conflict that was acceptable to all Syrians.

Lavrov defended Russia's decision to reject the latest draft resolution, saying Moscow had prevented opposition armed units from taking control of more cities in Syria.