Troops loyal to Bashar al-Assad could be used to fight Islamic State, but only in the framework of a political transition without the Syrian president, the French foreign minister said on Friday.
The remarks by Laurent Fabius underscored the deep fault line between the west and Russia as François Hollande, the French president, seeks to forge a common front against Isis after the atrocities in Paris that killed 130 people.
“Troops on the ground cannot be ours, but [there can be] Syrian soldiers from the Free Syrian Army, Sunni Arab states, and why not regime troops,” Fabius told RTL radio without specifying whether he meant immediately or in the long-term.
Clarifying Fabius’ comments, an official said the minister was reiterating France’s long-standing position that there could be no cooperation with Syrian government forces to battle Isis until a unity government was in place.
“It could only happen in the framework of a political transition and Fabius stresses that this transition is urgent and indispensable,” the official said.
On Thursday, France and Russia agreed to exchange intelligence on Isis and other rebel groups to improve the effectiveness of their bombing campaigns in Syria, following talks between Hollande and Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
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