Paris Hails Palmyra Recapture but Raps Damascus for War

France on Tuesday hailed the recapture by Syrian forces of the ancient city of Palmyra as "positive news" but stressed Damascus bore the main blame for the war in Syria.

"The advances against Daesh today cannot erase the fact that the (Syrian) regime bears the main responsibility for the conflict and its 270,000 dead over the past five years," said foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal, using an alternate name for the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, also known by the acronyms of ISIS and ISIL.

Speaking at a press briefing, Nadal reiterated France's call for a halt to attacks on "moderate opposition groups" in Syria.

Russian-backed Syrian forces recaptured the oasis city known as the "Pearl of the Desert" on Sunday.

Analysts said the government's seizure of the UNESCO World Heritage site was the biggest blow so far in the war against IS and a major coup both for Damascus and Moscow. 

It was a strategic as well as symbolic victory for President Bashar Assad, providing control of the surrounding desert all the way to the Iraqi border, they said.