France urges Syrian transitional govt to partner coalition fighting Islamic State

France's president urged Syria's new authorities to consider a partnership with the Iraq-based international coalition fighting Islamic State to prevent the country being destabilised in its transition period.

Syria's foreign minister attended an international conference in Paris on Thursday where regional and Western powers looked into how to shield the country during its fragile transition amid ongoing instability across the Middle East.

Asaad Hassan al-Shibani was leading a delegation for a first trip to the European Union since the December overthrow of Syria's autocratic president Bashar al-Assad, and a few days after President Emmanuel Macron invited Syria's transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa to France.

Speaking at the conference, France's president said Paris was ready to do more to help the country tackle terrorist groups and to prevent Syria becoming once again a platform for Iranian militias to destabilise the region.

"Syria must clearly continue to fight against terrorist organisations that spread chaos in your country and who want to export it. That's why the fight against Islamic State and all terrorist groups is an absolute priority," Macron said, adding that the transition should consider working with the Western-led Inherent Resolve operation in neighbouring Iraq.

Regional ministers, including from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Lebanon, were joined by Western partners at the gathering, though the U.S. had only a low-level diplomatic presence.

The meeting aimed to coordinate efforts to ensure Syria's sovereignty and security through its transition, and mobilise its main neighbours and partners to coordinate aid and economic support, the French foreign ministry said.

"We want Syria to stop being used to destabilize the region. On the contrary, we want the Syrians to be able to focus today on the success of the transition and the recovery of their country," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said at the start of the meeting.

The participants also planned to discuss transitional justice and the fight against impunity for those accused of abuses during Syria's 13-year-long civil war.

The meeting did not aim to raise funds, which will be left to an annual pledging conference in Brussels on March 17, but issues such as the lifting of sanctions imposed on Syria during Assad's iron-fisted rule were to be discussed.

The EU agreed in principle last month to lift sanctions but there has been no follow-through due to Greek and Cypriot objections to maritime boundary talks between Syria and Turkey that affect waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus.

Greece and Cyprus also want assurances that sanctions could be restored quickly, two diplomats said.

They said they were hopeful a compromise could be reached this month. Barrot, whose country was expected to announce the reopening of the French embassy in Damascus on Thursday, said sanctions-lifting was a work in progress and German counterpart Annalena Baerbock said it would be done "step by step".

Ahead of the meeting, the main international aid donors met in Paris to take stock of Syria's humanitarian situation, notably in the northeast, where the impact of U.S. aid cuts has had a "terrifying" impact, according to a European official.