France, Germany, Britain jointly urge Assad to quit

PARIS - French, German and British leaders on Thursday called for further sanctions against Syrian authorities on the European level, quoting that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has lost "all legitimacy" and should step down from power.

In a joint statement published by the Elysee Palace, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the months-long military operations and mass arrests in Syria.

The leaders "actively support further strong EU sanctions against the regime of President Assad," and urged the Syrian authorities to immediately stop violent conflicts with protestors, and allow a UN team to assess the situation in Syria, the statement said.

The three countries believe that al-Assad "has lost all legitimacy and no longer claimed to lead the country," it added, calling on al-Assad to "step down, in the best interests of Syria and the unity of its people."

The statement followed similar calls by US President Barack Obama and the European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in the same day.