French President Macron and his Russian counterpart Putin had the phone conversation on Friday, the leader shared the latest development on Syria. Macron’s call with Putin appeared to be designed to reduce the risk of any retaliation from Russia.
Mr Macron urges for more dialogue with Moscow, noted the two countries’ shared interests in fighting Isis in Syria and said Paris would support efforts to find a political solution to the seven-year civil war in the Arab state. Friday’s phone call was the first since the gas attack in Douma last week, France Press reported.
“The president of the republic called for dialogue with Russia to be maintained and stepped up to bring peace and stability back to Syria,”
Mr Macron’s office’s statement reads.
On Thursday, Emmanuel Macron said that is country had a proof the Syrian regime was behind Douma attacks and that it would respond “in due time” and in a co-ordinated way with the US and the UK. But he added that he would also seek to avoid conflict escalation in the Middle East region.
Friday’s Macron’s call to Putin followed the discussion on Thursday when Donald Trump had spoken to Mr Macron and Theresa May regarding potential strikes in Syria. Early on Friday, Mr Trump spoke to his French counterpart again. According to press secretary Sarah Sanders, the White House was holding “ongoing meetings” on Syria.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the region was in such “chaos” that it had become a danger to international peace and security, with Syria representing the most serious threat”. In his speech, SG was citing multiple points of conflict and proxy wars in the Middle East, one of the most fragile regions of the world.
