A - First of all, I’d like to tell you about the meeting in Doha and then I’ll come back to the other meetings on Syria.

France supports the process aimed at organizing and unifying the Syrian opposition. This meeting in Doha is very important. The opposition must seize this opportunity to take a decisive step toward establishing a transitional national authority, which France has called for.

With this goal in mind we’re in frequent contact with the various components of the Syrian opposition and also directly with the local civil governance structures, which are managing, within the country, the day-to-day lives of the populations affected by the regime’s crackdown. I would also like to reaffirm that our ambassador to Syria, Mr. Eric Chevalier, who is in Doha, is coordinating the direct material support that we’re providing to these councils.

Regarding the meeting in Japan, as you know, there are several groups which share the same objective, i.e. achieving a free, democratic Syria that respects the rights of all components of Syrian society, which helps to ensure that the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people are heard. In my view, this meeting in Tokyo falls within the framework of a sub-group of the Group of Friends; it’s a group tasked with monitoring the sanctions.