The Syrian president, Ahmad Al-Chareh, in power from the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December, will be received on Wednesday, May 7 in Paris by Emmanuel Macron for his first visit to Europe, an Elysée source on BFMTV said on Tuesday, confirming information from the AFP.
The French president “will redirect France’s support for the construction of a new Syria, a free, stable and sovereign Syria, respectful of all components of Syrian society,” said the same source.
Did the massacres of Druze and Alawites mentioned?
“This meeting is part of the continuity of the historical commitment of France for Syrians who aspire to peace and democracy,” added the French presidency, ensuring that Emmanuel Macron recalls “his requirements against the Syrian government, at the forefront of the stabilization of the region and in particular Lebanon, as well as the fight against terrorism.”
The French head of state had invited the leader of the Syrian transition in France in early February to go to France. At the end of March, he had conditioned this invitation to form a Syrian government that includes “all components of civil society” and to guarantee the security of the country, while judging “completely positive” its first discussions in this regard.
Since he took power in December, the Islamist coalition governing Syria, directed by Ahmad al-Chareh, has been trying to present a reassuring face, especially with respect to the international community that urges it to respect freedoms and protect minorities. At stake, the lifting of the sanctions imposed in the power of Bashar al-Assad.
But the massacres that left 1,700 dead, mostly Alauit, in the west of the country in March, recent battles with drzes and abuses documented by NGOs, raise doubts about the capacity of the new authorities to control certain extremist combatants who are affiliated with them.
At the same time, Israel recently intensified its attacks in neighboring Syria, one of which was attacked on Friday a sector close to the Damascus presidential palace. Israel spoke of a “clear message sent to the Syrian regime” after the attacks on the Druse minority for which Israeli leaders took the cause.
But the Syrian presidency, which has been undertaken to protect all communities, denounced a “dangerous escalation”, while the UN called “immediately” to “immediately” its attacks in Syria.
Source: BFM TV
