Sharaa arrived in Paris for his first official trip to Europe after shedding his identity as a former Al-Qaeda leader and deputy commander to the founder of ISIS
News Desk - The cradle
According to a statement released by the Elysee Palace, the meeting between Macron and Sharaa sought to “accompany the transition towards a free, stable, sovereign Syria that respects all components of Syrian society.”
“The new wave of sectarian violence in Syria cannot be ignored. I reminded President Sharaa of the need to protect all Syrians and to hold those responsible for the violence accountable,” Macron said in a statement to the press.
Since the start of March, hundreds of Alawite families have been massacred by Syria's new security forces under the command of Sharaa. Dozens of young Alawite women have also been kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery by the former ISIS and Al-Qaeda fighters.
The sectarian violence recently extended to Druze villages south of Damascus, where heavy clashes broke out last week.
Macron also spoke about the situation in the Lebanon-Syria border, where extremist groups allied with Sharaa have also attacked Lebanese army positions.
“We are ready to launch negotiations between Lebanon and Syria to demarcate the border,” Macron said.
The French president also supported a “gradual lifting” of EU sanctions against Syria and revealed that he is “trying to persuade” the US to postpone its troop withdrawal from the war-torn nation.
For his part, Sharaa confirmed that his government is holding “indirect” talks with Israel.
“There are indirect negotiations with Israel through mediators to de-escalate tensions and prevent a loss of control,” Sharaa said.
He also claimed that Damascus "has provided guarantees to all countries that foreign fighters will abide by Syrian law and not harm their country," adding that foreign extremists he folded into the new military will obtain Syrian citizenship under a new constitution.
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