France urges Syrian government to fulfill promises to Kurds
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – France’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jérôme Bonnafont, on Tuesday called on the Syrian transitional government to honor its declared commitments toward the Kurdish population, framing this as a crucial step toward safeguarding the country’s unity and territorial integrity.
“We therefore expect the commitments made to the Syrian Kurds to be implemented,” Bonnafont said. “These commitments offer an opportunity to preserve Syria’s unity and territorial integrity.”
Speaking during a U.N. Security Council session on Syria, Bonnafont warned that the Middle East has entered a new phase of regional tension, which requires a concerted international effort to prevent those dynamics from derailing Syria’s fragile political transition.
Bonnafont also expressed hope that the investigative committee on coastal region crimes would produce “clear and impartial findings.”
He stressed the need for Damascus to guarantee equal rights for all Syrian communities, urging an end to sectarian discrimination or retaliatory practices, and instead embracing a framework of unity through diversity.
“We call on the Syrian authorities to do everything in their power to ensure that all components of the Syrian people are treated with equal respect, without vengeance or sectarianism, in a spirit of unity in diversity,” he added.
The French envoy called on the international community to provide urgent, multidimensional support to Syria. He underscored the importance of restoring civil peace and advancing political transition and regional integration.
The international community has a responsibility to assist Syria in three areas, Bonnafont said. Firstly, to address the humanitarian urgent situation and to support political and economic reintegration of Syria within the international community; second, supporting the restoration of civil peace and effective unity in Syria; and third, helping the Syrian authorities to make the political transition a collective success.
He welcomed the creation of the National Authority for the Missing and the National Authority for Transitional Justice, describing them as “encouraging first steps” toward accountability and reconciliation.