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Conflict in Syria

French top diplomat to visit Moscow, Tehran to discuss situation in Syria

According to the top diplomat, France believes that the United Nations Security Council should help declare an early humanitarian pause in Syria

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian

© AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert

PARIS, February 20. /TASS/. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit Russia and Iran in the coming days to discuss the Syria issue, as he himself said, addressing the French National Assembly.

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"In the coming days, I will visit Moscow and Tehran upon an order from French President Emmanuel Macron, as there is an urgent need to discuss the situation in Syria," the French top diplomat said.

According to Le Drian, France believes that the United Nations Security Council should help declare an early humanitarian pause in Syria, which could make it possible to avoid the most serious risks. "This is what the Security Council is currently working on," he added.

The French foreign minister pointed out that Russia’s initiatives, put forward at the Sochi Congress, had failed to produce results. In this regard, he called for resuming the Geneva talks. "This is why France has presented its own initiatives concerning the Syrian constitution, elections, an impartial approach to the situation during the transition period and ways to engage minorities in the [political] process," Le Drian said.

He noted that "a number of France’s partners have supported these initiatives so Paris considers it important to discuss them with all the regional actors." "This is the reason for my upcoming visits to Moscow and Tehran," he stressed.

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