West policy vis-à-vis Syria has fallen short: Ex-French PM

The former French prime minister and the Republican party’s presidential candidate has criticized the Western policy towards Syria’s nearly six-year-old conflict, stating that Europe’s stance vis-à-vis the deadly crisis has shown “indignation.”

Speaking to reporters following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of European center-right parties in Brussels on Thursday, Francois Fillon stated that Europe has to engage in negotiations with parties involved in the Syrian conflict to save lives.

“I told European leaders that what we are forced to concede today is that Western diplomacy and in particular European diplomacy has failed,” he said, rejecting the option of a US military onslaught against Syria.

United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict. The UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.