Paris: French President Emmanueal Macron has declared that “the fight against terrorism” will be the “first priority” of his government’s foreign policy. In a keynote speech to French ambassadors on Tuesday, Macron labelled the IS terrorist militia as France’s “enemy.”
Macron also announced the formation of an international contact group for the Syrian civil war that is expected to be able to start working by the time of the United Nations General Assembly in September.
The stabilisation of Iraq and Syria and the return to peace are of “vital interest” for France, Macron said. “In Syria we must end the war. In both countries we must win the peace,” the president said.
The French military is involved in attacking IS positions in the region with airstrikes and artillery. France has been hit by a series of terror attacks in recent years that have claimed the lives of at least 240 people.
Macron had already mooted a Syria contact group at the UN when US President Donald Trump visited Paris in mid-July. The most recent round of UN-mediated peace talks in Geneva ended in July without success. There are parallel talks in Kazakhstan sponsored by Russia, Turkey and Iran that are backing up the UN process.
— dpa
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