It has long been said that Bashar Assad has lost its legitimacy and must go before peace can be established in Syria. And now French President Francois Hollande has insisted that the “neutralization” of Assad is a pre-condition to resolving the crisis in the war-torn country.
“We must reduce the terrorist influence without maintaining Assad. The two are bound up together,” Hollande told a gathering of French diplomats in Paris reported by the AFP on Tuesday Aug. 25, 2015.
He laid out three conditions for resolving the crisis — the first of which was the “neutralization” of Assad.
The second was to offer “solid guarantees to all the moderate opposition forces, notably the Sunnis and Kurds, and to preserve state structures and the unity of Syria.”
The final condition, which he said would be “decisive”, was to bring together regional actors with a stake in the conflict.
“I’m thinking of the Gulf countries, I’m thinking of Turkey which must get involved in the fight against Daesh (an alternative name for the Islamic State group) and resume the dialogue with the Kurds,” Hollande said.
Hollande said France would continue to support “moderate” members of the Syrian opposition and coalition airstrikes against IS in neighboring Iraq.
“Terrorism threatens all the actors in the region… and all world powers,” he said. “Resolving the Syrian crisis demands the participation of all, and France is ready to play its part.”
