France will turn to the prosecutor's office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch investigations into war crimes allegedly carried out by Russia and Syria in Aleppo, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says.
UN officials and Western powers have in recent days expressed outrage at airstrikes that have hit hospitals, an aid convoy and other civilian targets in rebel-held areas of northern Syria, including eastern Aleppo city.
"Who has carried out the bombardments? There are the Syrians, but also the Russians, who have come with their sophisticated weapons that allow them to penetrate down to bunkers where people are trying to protect themselves," Ayrault told France Inter radio.
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Ayrault visited Moscow and Washington last week before a UN Security Council vote on two resolutions aimed at implementing a ceasefire in the besieged city. Both resolutions failed to pass.
One, drafted by France and Spain, failed to pass due to opposition from Russia and Venezuela, prompting Ayrault to say that the vote "demonstrated the isolation of Russia."
During Ayrault's meeting in Washington last week, US Secretary of State John Kerry's said: "Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities and children and women. These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the September shelling of two hospitals in Aleppo a war crime, shortly before the US suspended its cooperation with Russia on Syria.
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Russia has supported the Syrian government with a bombing campaign against rebel groups in the country for more than a year. The US and some Middle Eastern powers have backed certain rebel groups seeking to overthrow the Syrian government.
France is also part of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State militant group in Syria and Iraq. On Monday, Ayrault also said that supporting the Syrian regime led by President Bashar al-Assad would support terrorism by proxy.
"It has to be said to Russia that if you are sincere in your fight against terrorism you cannot support the regime of Bashar al-Assad, because he basically promotes radicalisation [...] The groups opposed to Bashar al-Assad become more radicalised and are pushed into the arms of jihadists," Ayrault told France Inter.
