ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — The crisis in Syria cannot be solved without Russian participation, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday.
"We need Russia in order to solve the dramatic Syrian tragedy. Russia needs to do everything possible so that there are not two coalitions, but one. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's leadership — as I told him yesterday — may help us," Sarkozy said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force across Syria on February 27.
