An official state visit to France would mark Al-Sharaa’s third international visit following his recent nomination as president [Getty/file photo]
French President Emmanuel Macron has invited Syria’s new interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, to visit France in the coming weeks, Damascus confirmed on Wednesday.
The French leader spoke with Al-Sharaa on the phone, addressing a range of topics including Paris’s commitment to lifting economic sanctions on the country to enable Syria’s path to economic recovery, a statement from the Syrian presidency said.
Macron also stressed support for Syria’s political changeover, the country’s unity and territorial integrity, as well as the need to pursue the fight against “terrorism”, which he said was “for the benefit of the Syrian people as well as for the security of the French nation”.
He also called for the integration of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the country’s transitional process post-Bashar al-Assad.
The SDF have been engaged in clashes with Syria’s ally Turkey in the country’s north, as Ankara seeks to get rid of the Kurdish-led group viewed as an extension of the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).
The SDF, however, is seen by many Western nations as key to fighting off Islamic State (IS) threats in the region.
For his part, Al-Sharaa thanked his French counterpart for the call and affirmed that Syria will remain a positive actor in the region, focusing on national interests beneficial to the country’s road to recovery following 14 years of civil war and decades of Baathist rule.
The newly-nominated president also discussed the new vision adopted by the interim leadership, official news agency SANA said.
A trip to France would mark Al-Sharaa’s first overseas visit to a Western nation since becoming Syria’s de facto leader in December last year following a lightning offensive which overthrew the Assad regime, and his third overall international visit.
Al-Sharaa visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday, where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and performed the Islamic pilgrimage of Umrah.
On Tuesday, the Syrian interim president met with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. The two leaders held talks on tackling the SDF forces in northeast Syria, as well as IS threats. The voluntary return of Syrian refugees, economic challenges and forging a strategic partnership between Damascus and Ankara were also discussed.
SDF, SNA clashes continue around Tishrin Dam
Meanwhile, the SDF’s clashes with the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) remain ongoing in the country’s north.
In an official press release, the Kurdish militants said they attacked Ankara-backed fighters in the countryside surrounding the Tishrin Dam on Wednesday. An unconfirmed number of its members were killed, and at least three were injured.
The SDF said the attack was in response to “the attacks and aggression of the Turkish occupation”.
The Kurdish-led group said the SNA carried out several airstrikes in the vicinity of the strategic dam, which has been the site of escalated fighting between the two since December. At least one SDF fighter was killed also on Tuesday after SNA unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) struck the village of Khirbet Tueni, they said.
Ankara-backed airstrikes also targeted Kobani and surrounding villages, they added.
(Agencies contributed to this report)
