France asks Syria to help end Gaza conflict 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked Syria on Wednesday to help convince Hamas to cooperate in international efforts to end the Israeli assault in the Gaza Strip.

Without naming the Palestinian Islamist movement, Sarkozy said that he "didn't have any doubt" that Syria would help convince Hamas to agree to a deal.

"I know the importance of Syria in this region and its influence on a number of players. I don't have any doubt that President Bashar al-Assad will throw all his weight to convince every one to return to reason," Sarkozy said after meeting the Syrian leader in Damascus.

"Those who can work for peace must do it immediately," said Sarkozy, who is on a peace-brokering tour in the Middle East.

Syria, along with Iran, is a main backer of Hamas and hosts members of the group's exiled leadership, including Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.

Assad said that any initiative for a truce must stop what he described as Israel's war crimes in Hamas-run Gaza and lift the blockade in the besieged territory.

Diplomats in the Syrian capital said that France wanted Syria to exert its influence with Hamas to make sure that any ceasefire sticks, but Syria has been careful not to be seen as acting as a guardian of Israel's security.

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