A senior French officer accompanied confidentially the parliamentary delegation that visited Damascus on February 25 and met Major General Ali Mamlouk, a key Syrian security official, the French newspaper Le Figaro reported.

A senior French officer accompanied confidentially the parliamentary delegation that visited Damascus on February 25 and met Major General Ali Mamlouk,  a key Syrian security official, the French newspaper Le Figaro reported.   

The paper quoted a French intelligence officer as saying, "The politicians have their agendas, yet what we are concerned about is the danger which threatens France due to the fact that hundreds of its young citizens have joined the 'jihadists' in Syria."

Le Figaro added that the Syrian intelligence expressed its readiness to cooperate with the French side in case the diplomatic relations between the two countries are re-established.

The newspaper concluded that the French officials support resetting the "security diplomacy" with Syria despite the current political considerations.