French president calls for the relaunch of peace talks in pursuit of a political solution to the Syrian crisis

Syria’s opposition leader Khaled Khoja met with French President Francois Hollande on Thursday in Paris amid efforts to bolster the standing of the National Coalition as its international support declines, sources said.

President Hollande has called for the relaunching of peace talks to pursue a political solution for Syria, also blaming Bashar al-Assad for the suffering of Syrian people, according to AP.

Hollande, in a written statement, said that Assad is "not a credible interlocutor" to prepare Syria's future.

Khoja, who was elected as head of the Western-backed group in January, desires rebuilding the Coalition’s network of international relations since the inner-rifts and mismanagement of the SNC impacted negatively towards international support for the revolution and a decline in financial assistance for Syrian refugees.

The Coalition’s embassy in France arranged the visit after it was postponed three times by French authorities, a source told Zaman al-Wasl.

France has been a staunch supporter of the mainstream opposition forces attempting to oust Assad in Syria's civil war. The last round of UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva ended in failure one year ago.

Four French lawmakers travelled to Damascus last month, with three of them meeting with Assad. The initiative was strongly criticized by French government.