PARIS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- France is opting for new "doctrine" to handle Syrian crisis, in which departure of president Bashar al-Assad is no longer a pre-condition to launch post-war talks, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.
"We have indeed changed the French doctrine towards Syria in order to have results and work very closely with our partners, in particular the United States of America," Macron said during a joint press conference with U.S. head of state Donald Trump.
The French head of state saw fruitless to ask al-Assad to leave, saying he is working with his American counterpart to forge concrete alternative able to prepare post war period.
"We have one main objective: the eradication of all terrorist groups... to have a political long-term and inclusive solution," he said.
He said working to initiate a contact group including main five world powers, Arab sates, representatives from opposition and the Syrian government in order "to build a long-term political stability."
France joined U.S.-led international coalition to fight Islamic State (IS) fighters in Iraq in 2014. A year after it deployed its fighter jets to strike IS targets in Syria, the IS claimed responsibility for fatal attacks which left 130 victims in Paris.
"On the Iraq-Syria situation, we have agreed to continue working together, in particular on the building of a roadmap for the post-war period," Macron said.
