PARIS, April 19 (Xinhua) -- French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault held phone talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Syria.
According to a press statement issued by the French foreign ministry, Ayrault underlined in his conversation with Lavrov the importance of the mechanisms of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations (UN) in establishing the facts and responsibilities of this attack, and reaffirmed France's confidence in these mechanisms.
He also stressed the urgency to implement a genuine ceasefire in Syria, as well as the need to monitor its implementation by the international community, in order to ensure its solidity and sustainability, said the statement.
Moreover, Ayrault expressed his readiness to cooperate with Russia in the fight against terrorism and called for an early resumption of negotiations for a political transition in the troubled country that has been at war for over six years.
