Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said Wednesday that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent recent hostilities from getting out of control.

He spoke on his first visit to Europe since taking office in January, and as he seeks to broaden ties to Western countries.

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on parts of Syria last week, saying it aims to protect the country’s Druze minority from coming under attack by pro-government gunmen.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, al-Sharaa said, ″Regarding negotiations with Israel, there are indirect talks through mediators to calm down the situation so that they don’t get out of control.″

He did not say who the mediators are.

There was no immediate public comment from Israel.

Israel has its own Druze community and officials have said they would protect the Druze of Syria and warned Islamic militant groups from entering predominantly Druze areas.

Al-Sharaa met earlier Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said he would push the EU and U.S. to lift sanctions on Syria to boost its economy.

Macron also called for continued U.S. and international military presence in Syria to fight terrorist groups threatening security in the Mideast and Europe.

Al-Sharaa took power after his Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led an offensive that toppled former President Bashar Assad in December.

Assad, a member of Syria’s Alawite minority, ruled for more than two decades.

The Syrian leader’s visit to Paris comes a week after clashes between forces loyal to al-Sharaa and fighters from the minority Druze sect that left nearly 100 people dead.

This followed earlier violence in Syria’s coastal region between Sunni gunmen and members of the minority Alawite sect, which left more than 1,000 people dead, many of them Alawite civilians killed in revenge attacks.

Religious minorities in Syria, including Alawites, Christians and Druze, fear persecution under the predominantly Sunni Muslim-led government.

Al-Sharaa has repeatedly pledged that all Syrians will be treated equally regardless of religion or ethnicity.

The 14-year conflict has killed nearly half a million people and displaced millions.

Syria’s infrastructure lies in ruins, and international sanctions remain a major barrier to reconstruction.

The visit to Paris is being closely watched as a potential test of Europe’s willingness to engage with Syria’s new leadership.

The European Union has begun easing sanctions, suspending measures targeting Syria’s oil, gas and electricity sectors, as well as transport, including aviation, and banking restrictions.

The EU said that it would monitor developments in Syria to see whether other economic sanctions could be lifted, but its 27 member states are divided on whether to go further.

The faithful and curious at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City reacted to the “unique moment” of watching the smoke billow out from the Sistine Chapel.

Italian faithful Deborah Ruffalo said she “waited anxiously and with great anticipation” for the smoke that would signal whether a new pope had been elected or not to pour out of the chimney on Wednesday.

“We’re placing our hopes in tomorrow, which is also a Marian day, the feast of Our Lady of Pompeii, so surely a Pope under the sign of Mary in the month of May and tomorrow we hope to experience this unique moment here,” she said.

Outside in St. Peter’s Square, the scene was festive as thousands of people flocked to the piazza to watch the proceedings on giant video screens, applauding when the Sistine Chapel’s doors slammed shut and the voting began.

They waited for hours, watching screens that showed just a skinny chimney and occasional seagull. After the vote dragged on to dinnertime, some left in frustration, but those who stayed cheered when the smoke finally billowed out.

The cardinals were sequestered from the outside world Wednesday, their cellphones surrendered and airwaves around the Vatican jammed to prevent all communications until they find a new pope.

Francis named 108 of the 133 “princes of the church,” choosing many pastors in his image from far-flung countries like Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga that had never had a cardinal before.

His decision to surpass the usual limit of 120 cardinal electors has both lengthened the amount of time it takes for each vote to be processed and injected more uncertainty into a process that is always full of mystery and suspense.

Viewers in the Democratic Republic of Congo gathered around their TV in Kinshasa to cheer for the possibility of an African pope.

Patience Mudinda and her family were watching television in their small living room as the television showed the beginning of the process of electing a new pope.

This modest Congolese Catholic family has only one name in mind: their compatriot, 65-year-old Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu.

Everyone here wants Cardinal Ambongo to be the future pope.

Mudinda says she will be “overwhelmed with joy” if Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo is elected.

Meanwhile, Mudinda’s son concentrates on watching the news on television.

In Kinshasa, those close to Cardinal Ambongo are more measured in their comments on this Vatican election, hoping that the religious spirit will prevail over all other considerations in the choice of the future Pope, said Abbot Marcel Ndjondjo, a close colleague of the cardinal Ambongo.