France says powers must impose transition on Syrians, no role for Assad
France's foreign minister said on Friday he wanted major powers to agree on a transition calendar that would be imposed on Syrians, but ruled out any role for President Bashar al-Assad, who he said had "murdered" part of his population.
Jean-Yves Le Drian's comments come despite what has appeared to be a softening in Paris' position since the arrival of President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron's election victory gave Paris, which is a key backer of the Syrian opposition and the second-largest contributor to the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State, a chance to re-examine its policy in the country.
The change proposed by Macron was to drop demands Assad step down as a pre-condition for talks, although French officials still insist he cannot be the long-term future for Syria.
But Le Drian, who was defence minister under former President Francois Hollande, said the situation had changed because Islamic State militants were on the verge of defeat.
The focus now, he said, could turn to resolving the six-year civil war that has killed more than 300,000 and led millions of people to flee the country.
"He (Assad) cannot be part of the solution. The solution is to find with all the actors a calendar with a political transition that will enable a new constitution and elections" Le Drian told RTL radio.
"This transition cannot be done with Bashar al-Assad who murdered part of his population and who has led millions of Syrians to leave their territory."
