French FM calls Assad's Idlib denial '100 percent lies'

By Hajer M'tiri

PARIS (AA) - French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Friday described Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad’s denial of last week’s Idlib chemical attack as “100 percent lies, propaganda and cynicism”.

Speaking at a news briefing in Beijing alongside China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Ayrault said he had learned of Assad's remarks with "deep sadness".

In an interview on Wednesday, Assad claimed the Idlib attack was a fabrication.

He accused the United States of colluding with terrorists and of "fabricating the whole story in order to have a pretext" for its missile strike on a Syrian airbase last week.

Ayrault rejected this, saying: "The reality is that more than 300,000 have died, 11 million people have been displaced or become refugees, tens of thousands have been placed in Syrian prisons and a country has been destroyed.

"That is the reality. It is not a fantasy," he added, insisting on the need for a "real ceasefire, one which restricts the Syrian air force and military and is upheld by the international community."