Media captionWatch the key moments over 12 hours - in two minutes
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he convinced US President Donald Trump not to withdraw troops from Syria and instead commit "for the long term".
Earlier this month, Mr Trump declared that the US would "be coming out of Syria very soon".
On Saturday, joint US, UK and French strikes targeted Syrian government sites in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack.
Mr Macron said he also persuaded Mr Trump to keep the strikes limited.
The pair, who are reported to have a friendly relationship, spoke multiple times in the days before the military action was taken.
After Mr Macron's comments, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said: "The US mission has not changed - the president has been clear that he wants US forces to come home as quickly as possible".
But she added that the US was "determined to completely crush" the Islamic State group and prevent its return.
Announcing the strikes in an address to the nation on Friday evening in Washington, Mr Trump insisted: "America does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria - under no circumstances."
The US has about 2,000 personnel on the ground in eastern Syria supporting an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Catch up on the strikes:
What did Mr Macron say?
Speaking in a live TV interview, during which he was grilled on several subjects, Mr Macron said: "Ten days ago, President Trump was saying 'the United States should withdraw from Syria'. We convinced him it was necessary to stay for the long term."
Emmanuel Macron defended the strikes in a lengthy TV interview
In telephone calls with Mr Trump, he also said he "persuaded him that we needed to limit the strikes to chemical weapons [sites], after things got a little carried away over tweets".
A tweet from Mr Trump last week about US missile strikes on Syria had read: "Get ready, Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and 'smart'. You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!"
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he convinced US President Donald Trump not to withdraw troops from Syria and instead commit "for the long term".
Earlier this month, Mr Trump declared that the US would "be coming out of Syria very soon".
On Saturday, joint US, UK and French strikes targeted Syrian government sites in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack.
Mr Macron said he also persuaded Mr Trump to keep the strikes limited.
The pair, who are reported to have a friendly relationship, spoke multiple times in the days before the military action was taken.
After Mr Macron's comments, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said: "The US mission has not changed - the president has been clear that he wants US forces to come home as quickly as possible".
But she added that the US was "determined to completely crush" the Islamic State group and prevent its return.
Announcing the strikes in an address to the nation on Friday evening in Washington, Mr Trump insisted: "America does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria - under no circumstances."
The US has about 2,000 personnel on the ground in eastern Syria supporting an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Catch up on the strikes:
What did Mr Macron say?
Speaking in a live TV interview, during which he was grilled on several subjects, Mr Macron said: "Ten days ago, President Trump was saying 'the United States should withdraw from Syria'. We convinced him it was necessary to stay for the long term."
Emmanuel Macron defended the strikes in a lengthy TV interview
In telephone calls with Mr Trump, he also said he "persuaded him that we needed to limit the strikes to chemical weapons [sites], after things got a little carried away over tweets".
A tweet from Mr Trump last week about US missile strikes on Syria had read: "Get ready, Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and 'smart'. You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!"
