French President Emmanuel Macron urged Syria's interim government to cooperate with a U.S.-led coalition fighting against extremist groups in that region as he hosted a conference Thursday on the Mideast country's future.

France's president urged Syria's new authorities to consider a partnership with the Iraq-based international coalition fighting Islamic State to prevent the country being destabilised in its transition period.

In a recent international conference in Paris, France's president suggested that Syria's new authorities should consider a partnership with the Iraq-based international coalition that is actively fighting against the Islamic State.