Paris Says 'Friends of Syria' Meeting to Judge Assad on Peace Plan

The Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul Sunday will be a chance for the international community to judge if Bashar al-Assad's regime is implementing Kofi Annan's peace plan, France said.

"Bashar al-Assad has supposedly accepted Kofi Annan's peace plan," French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told a press conference on Wednesday.

"The Istanbul meeting will be an opportunity for the international community to assess whether the regime in Damascus is applying this plan or not, respecting its commitments or not, and ending the massacres it has carried out daily for more than a year or not," he said.

The meeting of top diplomats in Turkey comes after Assad reportedly accepted Annan's six-point plan calling for a daily two-hour humanitarian ceasefire and access to all areas affected by the fighting in Syria.

"After months of broken promises, France and the international community will judge (Assad) on his actions," Valero said.

"We demand the full implementation of the peace plan proposed by Kofi Annan, starting with the immediate end of repression."

Valero also hailed the statement by Syrian opposition factions Tuesday that they were rallying behind the Syrian National Council as their formal representative.

He said France "welcomed the Syrian opposition's efforts Tuesday in Istanbul to build a common vision for Syria's future."

Valero said Sunday's meeting would also be a chance for the international community "to strengthen international support for the Syrian opposition, united around the Syrian National Council."