Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande spoke on the phone this morning and discussed the situation in Syria following the poison gas attack on 4 April and the US response. They issue the following statement:

Following the massacre with chemical weapons in Khan Sheikhoun in northwestern Syria on 4 April, a military installation of the Syrian regime was destroyed by a US air strike last night.

President Assad bears sole responsibility for this development. His repeated use of chemical weapons and his crimes against his own people demanded sanctions, as called for by France and Germany as early as summer 2013 following the massacre in Ghouta.

France and Germany will continue their endeavours with their partners and in the United Nations framework to bring President Assad to justice for his criminal acts.

Germany and France call upon the international community to stand united in working for a political transition in Syria in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 and the Geneva Communiqué.