French president says Assad has to resign

French President Francois Hollande says Syrian President Bashar Assad has to resign in order to resolve the ongoing conflict.

According to the French leader, Assad is not struggling against the extremist Islamist groups, but is using them to pressure the moderate part of the opposition.

Hollande stresses, however, that his country calls for a political way out of the crisis rather than a military operation, RIA Novosti reports.