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France says Syrian president's promises 'manipulation'

PARIS - The promises made to Russia by Syria's President Bashar Assad to implement reforms and end the 11-month crackdown are a "manipulation", French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Wednesday.
"It is a manipulation and we are not going to fall for it," Juppe told France Info radio when asked if he believed if Assad was being sincere.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Assad in Damascus on Tuesday, where he said both nations wanted to revive an Arab League monitoring effort that was suspended due to violence and push ahead with a reform program.