US secretary of state warns Russia, China over Syria

They also agreed to stiffer sanctions against Assad's regime, so as to increase support for rebels and ask the U.N. Security Council to mull action against Assad’s regime in accordance with Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, in which the U.N. can authorize military action against a state which poses ‘a threat to peace’.

Although Chapter 7 was last used against Libya last year, doing so against Syria at the U.N. Security Council is highly unlikely, given Russia and China’s use of their veto powers to protect Assad's regime thus far.

The Paris meeting follows a gathering in Tunis and another in Istanbul, both of which called for tougher action against Assad's criminal regime.

Meanwhile, according to voice of America website, the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged world powers to show Russia and China would pay a price for impeding progress toward a democratic transition in Syria.

“I do not believe that Russia and China are paying any price at all - nothing at all - for standing up on behalf of the Assad regime.

“The only way that will change is if every nation represented here directly and urgently makes it clear that Russia and China will pay a price,” Clinton warned.

For his part, French president Francois Hollande said that Bashar al-Assad must go.

“It’s in the interest of Syria, of its neighbors and everybody who wants peace in the region," Hollande added.

“The Syrian regime believes violence is the solution … It is essential that Assad leaves power and an oppositional body be installed.”

In an attempt to resolve the Syrian crisis from Russia's side, a ministerial source told Ria-Novosti news that the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet a delegation of the Syrian opposition on July 9. The did not specify the composition of the delegation.