French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday urged his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to give full support to an Arab League peace plan to persuade Bashar al-Assad to quit as Syria's leader.

During a phone conversation, Sarkozy also told Medvedev of "the necessity to increase the pressure on the Syrian regime to cease its brutal repression of the Syria people," said a statement from the French president's office.

The Kremlin confirmed the two men had discussed the crisis in Syria and said the Russian president had updated Sarkozy on the outcome of a mission to Damascus on Tuesday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"The president of France has been informed about Russian efforts aimed at an urgent cessation of any violence in Syria through the launch of all-encompassing dialogue between conflicting parties and the promotion of democratic changes in this country," said Medvedev's office.

"At the request of Mr Sarkozy, the Russian president let him know the results of the talks" between Lavrov and Assad.

Lavrov has said that Assad told him he was "fully committed" to ending the bloodshed in Syria where rights groups say some 6,000 people have been killed since an uprising began 11 months ago.

His mission came after Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution criticising Assad's crackdown on opponents to his rule.

The Arab League plan, which envisages Assad transferring power to his deputy and the formation of a national unity government within two months, has been firmly rejected by Syria.