French President Emmanuel Macron said he would pursue the progressive lifting of European Union sanctions against Syria if Syria stuck to its current path, and added he would lobby the United States to also follow suit in this regard.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron called on the United States and the European Union to lift sanctions against Syria on Wednesday after hosting the Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on his first visit to Europe.

Sharaa on Wednesday meets France's Emmanuel Macron in Paris on his first visit to Europe since taking power after the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.The visit comes with Syria's new authorities,