Emmanuel Macron welcomes the Syrian president to the Élysée Palace to ask him to protect "all Syrians without exception"

The security of Syrians is "the top priority," Ahmed al-Sharaa assured on the occasion of his first visit to Europe.

A controversial first visit to Europe for the Syrian president. Emmanuel Macron welcomed Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has been in power since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December, on Wednesday, May 7. During a conference at the Élysée Palace, the French president asked him to "do everything possible to ensure the protection of all Syrians without exception, regardless of their origin, religion, faith, or opinions." The security of Syrians is "the top priority," the Syrian head of state assured.

Emmanuel Macron also stressed that Ahmed al-Sharaa must "ensure that the perpetrators" of the recent sectarian violence targeting Druze and the "massacres" of members of the Alawite minority in March are "prosecuted and tried." He called for the European Union to "systematically sanction the perpetrators of these crimes." The French president also spoke out in favor of continuing "the gradual lifting of European economic sanctions" if the Islamist coalition stabilizes his country.

"There is no justification" for the sanctions "to be maintained because they are (...) imposed today on the people and not on the one who massacred them," declared the Syrian president. Ahmed al-Sharaa also stressed that the sanctions constituted "an obstacle" to the development of his country. "We spoke about it at length with President Macron today," he said, adding that the French head of state had "shown understanding."

Asked about the fate of foreign jihadists present on Syrian soil, Ahmed al-Sharaa assured that these fighters "would respect the law" and "would not constitute a threat to their countries of origin." He also mentioned the possibility of their "naturalization" if the "conditions" are met, noting that "many of them have married Syrian women and had children."

Ahmed al-Sharaa also confirmed "indirect discussions" with Israel "through mediators (...) to contain the current situation." The Israeli army announced Saturday that it had deployed to southern Syria, saying it was ready to intervene to protect villages belonging to the Druze minority. More than 20 Israeli strikes also targeted military sites across Syria overnight from Friday to Saturday.