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Conflict in Syria

French Foreign Minister says tapping solution to Aleppo crisis goal of his visit to Moscow

After Moscow, Jean-Marc Ayrault would go to Washington "for the same purpose"

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault Valery Sharifulin/TASS

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

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MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault who held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Thursday told reporters the goal of his visit to Moscow was to tap a solution to the crisis in and around Aleppo.

He said France was not going to put up with the violence Aleppo had plunged into but he came to Moscow to share the realization of the drama unfolding in war-torn Syria, not to mete out threats, and to find a solution that would put an end to that drama.

There was no other goal on the agenda his talks in Moscow, Ayrault said, adding time was still left but it was scanty as more and more new victims appeared every day.

After Moscow, he would go to Washington for the same purpose, he said.

War against terrorists all over the world

France that has become a victim of terrorists, urges the world community to stop a widening spiral of violence, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has stated

The minister said Paris was doing its best to see terrorism rooted out in the north of Africa and across the globe. "It’s time to stop feeding terrorism, stop giving grounds for its propaganda," the minister said.

He said strikes on Aleppo and civilians living there "are nourishing, supporting the process of radicalization of all those who are not yet involved in terrorism". The foreign minister said the widening of the spiral of violence must be stopped.

"It is never late to do this," he added.

French draft resolution on Syria

The UN Security Council draft resolution on Syria prepared by France is aimed at halting airstrikes on the city of Aleppo and ensure humanitarian aid deliveries to civilians, Ayrault believes:

"We want to put an end to the suffering and anguish of civilians in Aleppo so we have come up with a meaningful draft resolution that will be reviewed by the UN Security Council."

"This is a very simple resolution, it guarantees two things: first, the immediate halt of the airstrikes, and second, the immediate access of the civilians to humanitarian aid, as they have been desperate for aid for months."

The French foreign minister added that the UN Security Council members have been considering the draft resolution in a constructive manner. "We have reached some results but a few hurdles are still blocking the process," Ayrault noted. "We need to remove these hurdles so that the resolution could be approved."

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