The French military is "in position" to participate in a Western-led military intervention in Syria in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons in that country, a spokesman of the France defence ministry said Thursday.
"French army was in position to respond to the demands of the president if he would take the decision to engage French forces," Pierre Bayle was quoted as saying by the news channel BFMTV.
Citing its own sources, the weekly news magazine Le Point said France decided secretly to send a French warship, the Chevalier Paul, off Syria in preparation for a military action, Xinhua reported.
The anti-aircraft frigate was scheduled to quit the port of Toulon in a few hours to join an international fleet deployed in the Mediterranean.
The defence ministry declined to confirm the report and cited "normal activities" of French units.
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