France's Macron says necessary to work with Assad to build peace in Syria

PARIS, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said he believed that it was necessary to talk with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and his representatives to end the civil war and prepare the way to lasting stability in the country.

"My stance changes from what was done before, where we decided we could not talk with him (al-Assad) anymore," Macron said during an interview with state-run France2 television. "We will win the war against Islamic State in Syria by the end of February".

Breaking with the previous administration's policy which set al-Assad departure as a pre-condition to resolve the conflict, Macron said: "It is necessary to speak with Bashar even if he has to answer for his crimes."

France joined U.S.-lead military coalition to combat Islamic State insurgents in Syria in September 2015. Macron expected the international military offensive would meet its target of liberating Syrian territories from the terrorist group by the end of February.

Syria's conflict, which started with peaceful protests in 2011, has claimed hundreds thousands of lives and forced millions to displace, triggering Europe's worst migration crisis. Enditem