France’s “absolute priority” remains the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Thursday (5 February) during talks with his Syrian counterpart in Damascus, as Paris reassesses its counter-terrorism strategy.
Barrot met Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani as part of a regional tour that will also take him to Iraq later on Thursday and Lebanon on Friday, according to the French foreign ministry.
“For 10 years, France has fought relentlessly and mercilessly against the terrorists of Daesh in Iraq as well as in Syria,” Barrot said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
“I have come to reaffirm this absolute priority of France here in Syria,” he added.
The visit comes weeks after Syrian government forces moved to reassert control over swathes of northeastern Syria, previously overseen by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which had been guarding thousands of detained IS fighters and their families.
Analysts say Western officials fear the reconfiguration of security arrangements could create security gaps. They warn this could allow Islamic State militants to regroup or escape, raising concerns about a possible resurgence of the jihadist group.
Until now, the SDF had served as the main on-the-ground partner of the Western-led anti-IS coalition. Under pressure from Damascus, the Kurdish-led force is now set to integrate into the Syrian army, altering the balance of cooperation against IS.
A French diplomatic source said Western powers would need to work with Syria’s government to contain the IS threat but warned of limited trust, citing Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s past as a jihadist.
“This is not the same history, the same reflexes developed together, or the same bonds of trust,” the source said.
Al-Sharaa, who overthrew former president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, has sought to consolidate control over the entire country, including Kurdish-held areas in the north and northeast.
Barrot’s discussions in Damascus also covered the integration of Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities into the country’s emerging political order.
France, which has long positioned itself as a defender of Kurdish rights, is expected to press Damascus to honour an agreement announced last week on integrating Kurdish institutions and forces into the Syrian state.
That deal effectively ended Kurdish hopes of preserving the autonomous administration they established during Syria’s civil war, which ravaged the country between 2011 and 2024.
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United Nations World Urban Forum 13 continues in Baku, Azerbaijan on 19 May with sessions and roundtable discussions focused on strengthening dialogue and advancing cooperation in urban development. Organisers say there are nearly 3 billion people globally who face some form of housing inadequacy.
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In a sweeping diplomatic push in Baku, Georgia and Azerbaijan have signed a landmark package of energy and transport agreements, cementing a partnership set to shape the South Caucasus corridor for decades to come.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for closer security coordination between Central Asia and China, warning that expanding trade and infrastructure links are exposing the region to increasingly sophisticated cross-border threats.
Azerbaijan and Georgia have agreed to resume daily passenger train services on the Baku-Tbilisi-Baku route from 26 May, 2026, marking a major step in restoring regional rail connectivity after services were suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Pakistan has deployed around 8,000 troops, fighter jets and air defence systems to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defence agreement, according to security officials and government sources familiar with the arrangement.
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