France rebuffs Putin over Syria govt, rebel force comments

Paris - As long as Assad has power, it will not be possible to get the necessary unity in Syria, says French foreign minister.

France dismissed Russian suggestions on Wednesday that Syrian government forces and moderate rebels could immediately join in fighting Daesh militants, saying it would be impossible while President Bashar Al Assad was in power.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a joint television appearance on Wednesday that Hollande had voiced the idea of uniting forces loyal to Assad and the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) to take on Daesh.
However, speaking in Morocco, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who attended a bilateral meeting last Friday between Hollande and Putin in Paris, said there was clearly "confusion" in the Russian camp.
"There is obviously military action to be taken against Daesh, and the (Al Qaeda-linked) Nusra Front notably," he told reporters in Tangier, Morocco, according to a transcript sent to Reuters by the foreign ministry.
"Then there is a political transition that needs to be done since we're convinced that as long as Assad has power, it will not be possible to get the necessary unity in Syria because of the crimes he has committed."
France, which has provided weapons and logistical support to rebels linked to the Free Syrian Army in the past, has repeatedly said Assad would have to go before government troops and rebels could together defeat Daesh.
"So, while he is there, no cooperation is possible with the Syrian army," Fabius said.
He added that a transition based on the 2012 Geneva Communique, a document setting out guidelines on a path to peace and political transition in Syria, spelled out that there would be a national unity government including certain parts of the Assad government and the moderate opposition.
"At that moment, with Assad asked to leave his responsibilities, it would be entirely possible to work with Syrians and the Syrian army to fight Daesh," Fabius said.
A French presidential source had earlier said the idea of associating moderate rebels from the Free Syrian Army and government forces to fight Islamic State was not a French idea.
Bashar Al Zoubi, who heads a group fighting under the banner of the FSA in southern Syria, told Reuters it was illogical to suggest it could join forces with Damascus against Daesh.

• MENA