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.

Sharaa was on Wednesday set to meet French leader Emmanuel Macron on his first visit to Europe since overthrowing longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, despite alarm over deadly clashes that have shadowed the new authorities' first months in power.

During the meeting, Macron will reaffirm France's support for the construction of a "free, stable and sovereign Syria that respects all the components of the Syrian society," the statement said. Sharaa in February received an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to visit France in the "coming weeks.