France, Germany welcome 'useful' meeting with US on SyriaFirstPost/AP, Feb 17, 2017
Bonn, Germany: The foreign ministers of France and Germany voiced cautious optimism Friday about the willingness of the Trump administration to engage on Syria, after new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took part in a discussion about the issue on the sidelines of a diplomatic summit in Bonn, Germany.
France's foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, said the meeting Friday was "particularly useful," noting that the meeting came a week before the UN-backed peace talks in Geneva are due to resume.
"It is important and absolutely instrumental for us to have a close dialogue with the United States on the Syrian issue and on many other issues," Ayrault told reporters.
His German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, said Tillerson had "participated vigorously" in the discussion, which also included top envoys from Italy, Britain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and the European Union.
Gabriel said those who participated agreed that only a political solution could bring lasting peace to Syria, which has been shaken by conflict for almost six years.
Russia, which has provided military backing to the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad in its fight against a broad range of opposition forces, didn't take part in the talks on the sidelines of a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 leading industrialized and emerging economies.
Gabriel noted, however, that Russia's support was crucial for progress to happen at the peace talks. "On its own the regime in Damascus won't conduct any serious negotiations," he said.
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