Russia on Tuesday urged all Syrian parties to maintain ceasefire and abide by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan, as the European Union (EU) planned to impose new sanctions against Syria.

"The Russian side pointed out the importance of preserving ceasefire and strict and consistent fulfillment by the Syrian government and all other parties of the obligations stemming from Annan's plan," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement after talks between Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riyad Khaddad in Moscow.

The Russian side also called for a sooner launch of UN monitoring mechanism in Syria, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, "There are those who want Kofi Annan's plan to fail...They are doing this by delivering arms to the Syrian opposition and stimulating the activity of rebels."

Also on Tuesday, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told the European Parliament that the EU was ready to continue to impose sanctions and restrictive measures as long as what she calls the "repression" continues in Syria.

"We are already working on a new set of sanctions and restrictive measures," she said, "Today my team is in Paris taking a leading role in the meeting of the Working Group on sanctions created at the Istanbul meeting."

The EU has imposed 13 rounds of sanctions against Syria since the unrest began a year ago.

Ashton said the situation in Syria remained fragile and unstable. She urged the Syrian authorities to fully implement Annan's six-point plan.

"This is not a matter of choice. The six-point plan is not optional. The government must implement it fully: troops and heavy weapons must be withdrawn from population centers, peaceful demonstrations and freedom of association must be respected, provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting must be ensured," she said.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe pledged to exert stronger pressure on Syria through "tougher penalties" to ensure the end of the country's lingering violence.

According to Juppe, the sanctions against Syria are a particularly effective instrument "to deprive the Syrian regime of the resources it used to finance and arm militias," while local reports said the Western sanctions have already halved Syria's foreign reserves.

The French minister called for sanctions that include "the embargo on weapons and policing equipment and Syrian oil exports, and measures aimed at the banking and financial sectors, notably a freeze on assets held by the Syrian Central Bank."

Juppe also urged stronger action from the United Nations, saying "any violations must be followed by a firm, swift response on the part of the Security Council."

For his part, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that "overall the cessation of violence has been generally observed." He urged the Syrian government and opposition to "exercise a maximum restraint, so that this cessation of violence can hold."

The 250 observers would be "not enough considering the current situation and considering the vastness of the country. That is why we need very efficient mobility of our mission," he said.

Earlier, the UN Security Council unanimously decided to send an advance team of up to 30 unarmed military observers to Syria in order to monitor a ceasefire between the Syrian government forces and armed opposition fighters.

The other observers are expected to arrive in the next few days. The team will be backed with other batches of observers over the next period, and the total number of observers may eventually reach 250.

Ban said the United Nations has asked "whether the EU could provide all these assets for efficient mobility, including helicopters and planes," adding "I believe the EU leadership was positively inclined."

On the U.S. side, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to attend the meeting of the Working Group in Paris.

A senior official traveling with Clinton said the situation in Syria "is either going to get better or we're going to have to go back to pressure" to ensure Syria to abide by the six-point plan.

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