- Title: SYRIA: French envoy meets Syrian foreign minister to reinforce ties
- Date: 16th June 2008
- Summary: (MER FLASH/ MER-2) DAMASCUS, SYRIA (JUNE 15, 2008) (REUTERS) FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL CHIEF OF STAFF CLAUDE GUEANT ARRIVING AT FOREIGN MINISTRY WITH SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER WALID AL-MOUALEM SIGN OF SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY VARIOUS OF MEETING MEMBERS OF FRENCH DELEGATION IN MEETING GUEANT AND AL-MOUALEM WALKING OUT OF BUILDING DIPLOMATIC CARS DRIVING AWAY
- Embargoed: 1st July 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Reuters ID: LVAAS6SKJFTL7CHB87TD8WPGG45Y
- Story Text: A senior aide of French president Nicolas Sarkozy met on Sunday (June 15) with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, the latest sign of improving bilateral relations following Syria's involvement in ending a political crisis in Lebanon.
Sarkozy's chief of staff Claude Gueant later met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who also met Sarkozy's diplomatic adviser Jean-David Levitte on Sunday.
Last year France halted high-level contacts with Syria, accusing Damascus of stocking tensions in Lebanon, a former French protectorate.
Relations thawed after Syria helped reach a deal, mediated by Qatar last month, which ended the standoff between Lebanon's ruling coalition and an opposition alliance led by Hezbollah -- a group backed by both Damascus and Tehran.
Last week Syrian Culture Minister Riad Agha visited Paris.
The Qatar deal paved the way for the election of army chief Michel Suleiman as president. French President Nicolas Sarkozy phoned Assad days later.
Sarkozy's office said the French envoys Claude Gueant and Jean-David Levitte had given Assad "a message" without specifying its content.
The two sides also discussed Sarkozy's project for a Mediterranean Union, which is due to be launched at a summit in Paris on July 13.
Sarkozy has invited leaders from all the countries that line the Mediterranean to the summit and the Bastille Day military parade the following day.
The prospect of Assad at the ceremonies has unsettled the French political opposition, and even left-wing Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has said it doesn't make him "especially comfortable".
Syria sent troops to Lebanon in 1976 and had a powerful grip on Lebanese politics over the following three decades. It withdrew its troops in 2005 in the face of international pressure and Lebanese street protests following the assassination of former premier Rafik al-Hariri.
Damascus still wields substantial influence over Lebanese politics.
France, which occupied Lebanon and Syria from 1920 to the 1940s, has 1,600 troops in Lebanon as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force in the country's south. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None