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French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday said France is ready to punish the perpetrators of the suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria and that all options were being discussed in response to "this despicable act."
"Damascus' chemical massacre can not remain unanswered and France is ready to punish those who took the heinous decision to gas innocent civilians in Syria," Hollande stressed during an annual meeting with French ambassadors.
Hollande said he was considering all options with his European allies and Arab partners to respond to the alleged deadly chemical attack against Syrian civilians.
"Today our responsibility is ... to find the most appropriate response to these atrocities once the UN inspectors' investigation mission is completed," he added.
His remark came just a week after the Syrian opposition claimed that some 1,300 people were killed in a chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian army on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus.
Discussions have been intensified among Western countries on a possible military response to the Syrian government, as the United States and Britain have already been mulling a possible military intervention in Syria.
The Syrian government strongly denied the accusation.
Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem challenged the Western powers Tuesday to provide their evidence on the involvement of the Syrian troops in chemical arms use.
In an interview with a Russian newspaper on Monday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Western accusations that Syrian government forces used chemical weapons are "an insult to common sense."
France has kept close eyes on the crisis in Syria. It is the first Western power to recognize the opposition Syrian National Coalition.
Hollande has made a series of phone conversations with U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Germany Chacellor Angela Merkel, to seek common response to the situation in Syria, as he believes everything indicates that the Syrian government was "the perpetrator of these unacceptable attacks."
Unveiling Paris foreign policy, the president promised to "increase (French) military support to the National Syrian Coalition in accordance with its European commitment."
He also announced that the defense council would meet on Wednesday to further discuss the situation in Syria.
Political analysts in Paris commented that Hollande's speeches on Syria were stronger in words, but there was no concrete announcement on detailed steps of response.
Citing the presidency as the source, local media reports said Hollande will meet Syrian main opposition group leader Ahmad al-Jarba on Thursday to prompt further actions against the Syrian regime.
