Syria – Mr. Laurent Fabius’s continued exchanges
The Holy See – Appointment of the secretary of state
Syria – Mr. Laurent Fabius’s continued exchanges
Since the chemical massacre on August 21, Mr. Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has been in continuous contact with our main European and international partners, the UN Secretary-General and the Secretary-General of the Arab League.
His discussions with them focused on the measures available to the international community to penalize the use of chemical weapons by Bashar al-Assad’s regime and to deter it from using them.
These exchanges will be actively pursued this week. Mr. Laurent Fabius spoke on the telephone this morning with his Portuguese counterpart and with Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
From September 5 to 6, the minister of foreign affairs will visit St. Petersburg where he will meet with the foreign affairs ministers attending the G20 summit, notably his American, Brazilian, Chinese, Russian and Turkish counterparts.
He will then be in Vilnius from September 6 to 7 in order to participate in the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers and the meeting scheduled to take place on the sidelines with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
The Holy See – Appointment of the secretary of state
Mr. Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs, extends his warmest congratulations to Monsignor Pietro Parolin, who has just been appointed secretary of state of the Holy See and whose exceptional diplomatic experience is well recognized.
France will continue to maintain a close and trusting dialogue with the Holy See on all issues of common interest, notably with respect to the key issues and crises facing the world today.