Representatives from about 100 countries and international organizations were meeting in Paris Friday to discuss the crisis in Syria with members of the country's opposition, dpa reported. Friday's meeting of the Friends of Syria group is the third this year after meetings in Tunis and Istanbul. Senior officials from mostly Western and Arab states will discuss a plan for the formation of a transitional government with members of the opposition Syrian National Council. China and Russia are boycotting the meeting. The two countries, both allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, consider the group too partial to the opposition. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told Le Parisien newspaper that the meeting would push for a Chapter VII United Nations resolution to enforce the transition plan agreed by world powers last week in Geneva. A Chapter VII resolution authorizes the use of military force "to maintain or restore international peace and security." Fabius said the meeting would also look to "widen the scope" of sanctions on the Syrian regime and "support the opposition by providing it with communications tools." The meeting comes amid reports of the first defection of a high-ranking Syrian military commander.. A pro-regime news website said Thursday that Republican Guards Brigadier General Manaf Tlass, a childhood friend of al-Assad, had fled to Turkey.
