France Condemns Any Russian Move Leading to Escalation of Syrian Conflict

France condemns any moves by Russia to prolong violence in war-torn Syria but welcomes any steps taken to resolve the conflict, French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The French prime minister expressed hope for Russia and its partners to achieve a lasting ceasefire in Syria, adding that Paris continues to maintain dialogue with Moscow on the issue.

"We strongly condemn anything that Russia could do in Syria, which contributes to continued violence and leads [Syrian President] Bashar Assad to kill his own citizens," Cazeneuve said while speaking to the France Inter radio station.

On Saturday, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a Russian-Turkish resolution on a ceasefire regime in Syria, as well as on holding political talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups in Astana, Kazakhstan in January 2017. A day earlier, a nationwide ceasefire between Syrian government troops and several opposition factions came into force. Russia and Turkey serve as guarantors of the deal which paves the way for negotiations between the warring parties.

The Syrian civil war broke out in March 2011. Government forces are fighting various groups of militants. According to the United Nations, about 300,000 Syrians were killed in the conflict. Russia started conducting aerial attacks against terrorists in September 2015, at the request of the Syrian government.