Hollande: Military intervention in Syria can't be ruled out

French President Francois Hollande has said military intervention in Syria should not be ruled out, despite US insistence that it is not a good idea at this point.

Yesterday, the UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan held a meeting with President Bashar al Assad in Damascus following Friday's massacre in which men, women and children were killed.

Syrian diplomats have also been expelled from a number of Western countries due to increasing tensions with the Assad regime.

Middle East Correspondent with the Guardian newspaper Martin Chulov said this diplomatic war would have little effect on President Assad.

"I think he will calculate, probably correctly, that the West are bluffing, that this is as far as they're going to go and as long as he sticks to his line and continues his oppression, he will prevail," he said.

"There is not going to be a military intervention this year. There won't be Nato jets flying across the horizon. He thinks he's winning, and I think he'll just stick to his guns."

Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister said his country is categorically opposed to military intervention in Syria.

He said it would be premature for the United Nations Security Council to consider new measures on the crisis at this point.