Paris: Bahrain and France yesterday urged nations to intensify their efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis as soon as possible.

Immediate international action is needed to end the suffering of the Syrian people, declared His Majesty King Hamad and French President Francois Hollande as they held official talks at the Elysee Palace.

They also discussed measures to combat the Islamic State militant group and dry up its funding sources.

France backed Bahrain’s efforts to confront terror attacks and root out terrorism. 

The two leaders stressed that the nuclear agreement between P5+1 nations and Iran must be binding and lead to an end to flagrant Iranian interference in the internal affairs of countries in the region.

President Hollande offered condolences to Bahrain on the deaths of five Bahrain soldiers in Yemen last Friday.