LOC16:39
13:39 GMT
PARIS, Feb 26 (KUNA) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to urge the full respect of a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Syria, official sources said.
Macron told Erdogan of the need for the UN resolution, proposed and adopted under Kuwaiti and Swedish auspices, to be "immediately and fully respected" and an end to be put to "indiscriminate bombardments" and for humanitarian aid to be delivered to beleaguered areas and the evacuation of the many wounded from these areas, a statement from the Elysee Palace said.
The French President expressed "deep concern" over the continuation of Syrian regime attacks in Eastern Ghouta, near the capital, Damascus, and he said Russia, Syria's main ally, must now "assume its full responsibilities relative to the Syrian regime it supports."
Macron further recalled that "the vigilance of France on humanitarian access and on chemical weapons will be total and permanent."
The French leader also indicated to his Turkish counterpart that the humanitarian truce "applies to all Syrian territory, including Afrin"
where Turkish forces have carried out a major military incursion against Kurdish forces from the YPG group.
He warned that the UN Resolution should be applied fully to avoid an outbreak of broader hostilities and "a regional blow up" that would sideline any prospects of a political solution in Syria.
"The guarantors of Astana, Turkey, Russia and Iran, bear a direct responsibility in this regard and this must be transmitted on the ground," the French statement said.
Macron further cautioned Turkey about maritime manoeuvres off the island of Cyprus which is divided between Turkey and Greece as part of an ongoing dispute over territorial rights. (end)
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