Syria condemns the “hysteria” of French diplomacy after statements about Assad

On Wednesday, Syria described as “hysteria” statements made by the French Foreign Minister, in which she supported the trial of President Bashar al-Assad.

A France 2 journalist asked Minister Catherine Colonna on Tuesday, “Do you hope he will be tried?” To which the minister replied, “Yes.”

“Fighting crimes and impunity is part of the values ​​of French diplomacy,” she added.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded in a statement saying, “We have recently followed the hysteria and isolated and detached positions of French diplomacy, which has lost its senses after the historic decisions taken by the Arab summit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding Syria.”

“The backward French diplomacy should review its positions,” the ministry added, accusing Paris of seeking to “restore the legacies of the colonial era.”

Bashar al-Assad returned to the regional arena by participating last week in the Arab League Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after suspending Damascus’ participation for more than a decade.

The French minister stressed that lifting the European sanctions imposed on the Damascus regime since 2011 is “definitely not” on the agenda, and the same applies to France’s position on the Syrian president.

The League of Arab States had suspended Syria’s participation in its activities at the end of 2011 due to the suppression of a popular uprising that turned into a devastating war, before it was reinstated on May 7.

After the devastating earthquake that struck Syria on February 6, the European Union and the United States eased their sanctions imposed on the Syrian government since 2011 to facilitate the delivery of aid.

The war in Syria has claimed the lives of about 500,000 people, in addition to millions of refugees and displaced persons.