France no longer insists on Assad’s resignation: French Ambassador to Russia

France no longer insists on resignation of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad as a precondition for settling the conflict in that country, French Ambassador to Russia Sylvie Bermann said in an interview with the Kommersant daily posted on its website on Sunday.

“We will not decide for the Syrian people but Bashar Al-Assad’s unconditioned resignation is out of the question,” she said, adding however that France is against the situation when control over territories liberated from terrorists and opposition militants is simply taken by Damascus.

She stressed that Syria’s future is a matter of dialogue between the country’s political forces.

“The idea that was worded at the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi and approved by the United Nations envoy for Syria provided for the establishment of a constitutional committee that would tackle issues of Syria’s new constitution,” she said.

“But I think the Syrian regime in not doing it so far.”

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 that was supported by all members of the Security Council, including France, has it that the conflict in Syria is to be settled on the basis of dialogue between all political forces in that country.

The resolution sets the timeframes for presidential and parliamentary elections after an accord is reached. It says nothing about the future of concrete persons, including President Bashar Assad.