France suggests Egypt joins contact group for Syria in the future, rest of Big Five refuse

France nominates Egypt for Syria contact group, rest of Big Five refuse: France nominated Egypt as one of the countries to bring into the contact group on Syria in the future, but the UN Security Council’s permanent five members “did not see eye to eye on this matter,” France’s ambassador to Russia tells TASS. Paris also suggested adding Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. French President Emmanuel Macron had initiated the group back in July and agreed with US President Donald Trump to initially limit its membership to the Security Council’s permanent five members — the US, the UK, France, Russia, and China.