Macron made those statements during a press conference on Thursday evening, after his meeting with the Syrian President on the sidelines of the “Climate Conference” held in the Brazilian city of Belem, where he stated: “Syria is invited to be a full and effective partner in our war against terrorist groups in the region.”
Macron explained that security cooperation between Paris and Damascus has become a necessity to protect French citizens, noting that France is “a few days away from commemorating the November 13, 2015 attacks,” and added that those attacks were “devised in Syria, which makes this file a fundamental security issue for us.”
The French President affirmed his expectations that Syria would play a full role in the war against terrorism in the region, considering that the current stage requires direct security coordination between the French and Syrian agencies.
In a related context, Macron described the UN Security Council’s decision to lift sanctions on al-Shara as “symbolic and important,” especially with the Syrian President’s anticipated visit to the White House next Monday, considering that the UN resolution “constitutes international ratification of the strategy that France had begun to adopt towards Syria.”
Macron continued: “From the beginning, we decided to cooperate with the head of the transitional phase in Syria in order to restore the country’s unity and territorial integrity, combat drug production and terrorist groups more effectively, and enable the return of refugees.”
He concluded his speech by emphasizing that the next stage will witness the activation of security and political coordination channels between Paris and Damascus within the framework of international efforts to combat terrorism and enhance regional stability.
