French foreign minister wants Syria’s Assad to be put on trial

ANKARA (AA): The French foreign minister has said that she wants Syria’s Bashar al-Assad to be put on trial.

“The fight against crimes and impunity are among the French diplomacy’s values,” Catherine Colonna told broadcaster France 2 when asked about al-Assad.

When the journalist insisted and asked her if she wants to see Assad tried one day, Colonna confirmed it.

The French foreign minister said Assad had been an “enemy of his own people” for over a decade.

Lifting European sanctions against Syria is “certainly not” on the agenda, she added.

France will not change its position unless Assad changes and commits to reconciliation, Colonna also said.

Migration row with Italy

France and Italy are not in a diplomatic crisis, Colonna said, but she sought cooperation from Rome to tackle the migration issue, which has recently strained relations between the two nations.

“Italy is facing strong migratory pressure, particularly from the Mediterranean Sea. We long for better cooperation with Italy because we must fight those inflows,” Colonna said, adding that Europe is currently developing a migratory policy.

Earlier this month, French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin branded the Italian government as “incapable” of solving the migration “problem”, prompting Italy’s foreign minister to cancel a visit to France for a meeting with his counterpart.

Darmanin said there was a flow of migrants towards southern France, particularly unaccompanied minors, accusing Italy of being unable to manage the migration pressure.

However, Colonna brushed aside such a tirade, saying, “I will take up a visit to Rome on Thursday at the invitation of my Italian counterpart (Antonio Tajani).”

Italy has seen an increase in seaborne arrivals of irregular migrants making their way across the Mediterranean Sea on boats from Tunisia and Libya. These hapless people are mostly asylum seekers and refugees escaping war, conflict and bloodshed or crippling poverty. The journeys they make are fraught with risks and their reception in Europe is far from welcoming.

The two sides have often complained in recent months about mismanagement of the issue or a lack of cooperation in reaching a ‘solution’ for irregular migration.

Many of those migrants, after being rescued and brought to Italian soil either by authorities or charity boats, then attempt to move towards northern Europe, including France.

France wants to put a stop to the inflow of asylum seekers from Africa and Asia while at the same time welcoming European refugees from Ukraine.