Laurent Fabius

Gabriel Attal, named France's youngest ever prime minister Tuesday at the age of 34, has had a meteoric rise that has invoked comparisons with that of his mentor President Emmanuel Macron.

Emmanuel Macron was inaugurated as France's youngest ever president on May 14, saying the country had chosen "hope" and that he would relaunch the flagging European Union.

Macron, a 39-year-old centrist, took the reins of power from François Hollande a week after he won a resounding victory over far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a tumultuous election.

Outgoing French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Feb. 10 criticized the U.S. role in Syria, saying he did not see "a very strong commitment" from Washington.

"There are ambiguities ... You don't get the feeling that there is a very strong commitment," Fabius told reporters shortly before announcing that he was stepping down after nearly four years as foreign minister.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has said he is leaving office, AFP news agency says.

The report has not been immediately confirmed.

#BREAKING French foreign minister Fabius says he is leaving government

? AFP news agency (@AFP) February 10, 2016

Western countries have blamed Russian airstrikes in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime forces for a halt to United Nations-brokered Syria peace talks in Geneva.

The US and France have accused President Bashar al-Assad's regime of undermining talks to end Syria's civil war, which were suspended hours before donors were due to meet on Feb. 4 to raise aid for the conflict-torn country.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu has resumed regular contact with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State John Kerry, as Syrian peace talks gained some momentum with the U.N. special envoy formally declaring the start of indirect negotiations.

A delegation from Syria's main opposition group flew to Geneva on Jan. 30 to assess whether to join Damascus government officials in United Nations-brokered peace talks, an opposition representative said. 

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Jan. 27 that the United Nations' special envoy to Syria had told him that he would not be inviting the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) to peace talks in Geneva scheduled to start on Jan. 29 and that a Riyadh-backed opposition group would lead the negotiations. 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu has spoken with counterparts from France and the United States ahead of U.N.-led peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition that are slated for the near future in Geneva.