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Macron Says France Will Increase Support to Coalition in Syria

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - French President Emmanuel Macron promised at a briefing in Washington on Wednesday to increase France’s military involvement in Syria and back the US presence in the country’s north.
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"We are fully committed, and we will continue and increase our commitment within the framework of the international coalition," he said. "What I am committed to doing in cooperation with Americans is to provide support to the American presence in the north of Syria and in particular east of the Euphrates river."

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As Sputnik reported earlier, Macron said Wednesday that France would follow the United States in withdrawing forces from Syria after Islamists are defeated.

Speaking to students of the George Washington University in the US capital, Macron stressed that his country’s "first focus" was the war against the Daesh terror group.

"Your president [Donald Trump] said he would stop the involvement of US troops as soon as the war against ISIS is completed. We’re in the same position… Our willingness is to be totally committed in this war against ISIS, no more than that," he vowed.

He also suggested that a small group of countries should mediate between two parallel peace processes on Syria to "fix" the situation there in the long run.

"Our willingness is for this new small group to create a bridge between the Geneva process and the Astana process to have a discussion encompassing all the allies of the regime and to open a line with Russia and Turkey," he said during a press conference at the George Washington University.

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