France does not demand the unconditional ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad anymore as the country is mainly focused on fight against terrorism in the conflict torn country, French Ambassador to Russia Sylvie Bermann told Kommersant newspaper in an interview released on Sunday.
When asked about French goals in Syria, Bermann said that “first of all, it is fight against terrorism,” adding that in this regards France is in solidarity with Russia. The second main problem is the issue of refugees, according to the ambassador.
“It is unacceptable that someone simply managed to win back the territory of the country from militants and Bashar Assad remained in power, as before… We will not decide for the Syrian people, but we are not talking about the demand for unconditional ouster of Bashar Assad,” Bermann said.
France’s priorities in Syria include the provision of humanitarian assistance, search for a political solution that would involve all sides of the Syrian conflict, prevention of using chemical weapons and fight against terrorism, according to Bermann.
“We have no fundamental disagreements with Moscow on these issues,” the ambassador stressed.
Syria has been in the state of war for since 2011. The government forces are fighting against opposition groups and terrorist organizations.
Sputnik