The French Foreign Minister says he has little hope for planned peace talks over the Syrian conflict.
Laurent Fabius says France is working on making the talks scheduled for next month in Switzerland a success, but there is "a great deal of doubt".
He says the moderate anti-government groups France has been working with are in serious difficulty.
The talks will aim to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, end the fighting and outline a political transition for Syria.
The BBC reports the Syrian regime has said it will attend in principle, but will accept no preconditions and refuses to negotiate with "terrorists", its term for almost all its political and military opponents.
It remains unclear who will take part in the conference in the Swiss town of Montreaux on 22 January, with reports emerging last week that representatives of more than 30 countries wanted to attend.
