French, Egyptian presidents discuss Syria over phone

CAIRO, 22 Apr 2018 [Fik/News Sources]: Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in a phone conversation with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Saturday discussed the joint strikes by France, the U.S. and the U.K. in Syria.

According to a statement by the Egyptian Presidency, Sisi and Macron also spoke about the Middle East and Syria crisis.

The statement quoted Macron as saying the strikes were conducted within the legal framework.

Sisi reiterated Egypt's stance against the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

He called for a transparent investigation within the scope of international standards.

The Egyptian president will participate in a conference in Paris next week over terrorism financing, the statement added.

The Damascus suburb of Douma was hit by a suspected chemical attack early this month, which left at least 78 civilians dead, according to Syrian civil defense White Helmets.

On April 14, France in coordination with the U.S. and the U.K. conducted a series of military strikes in Syria as a reaction to the alleged use of chemical weapons.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, according to the UN.