Syrian President Bashar Al Assad asked France last night to assist in direct peace negotiations between Syria and Israel, alongside the US. Ending years of isolation from the West, Assad held talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the eve of a major EU-Mediterranean summit and signaled his willingness for face-to-face talks with Israel.
"The Syrian President has expressed his wish that France, together with the US, fully contributes to a future peace agreement between Syria and Israel, both to the direct peace talks and to the implementation of the peace agreement," a joint statement said.
Assad said he did not expect peace talks with Israel in the next six months, adding that the current US administration was not interested in peace in the Middle East.
Syria launched indirect peace talks with Israel this year under Turkish mediation over the return of the Golan Heights captured by Israel in 1967.
The last talks direct between the Israel and Syria under US sponsorship broke down eight years ago and Washington has been reluctant to re-engage with Damascus because of its role in Lebanon and close ties with Iran.
The statement added that Sarkozy would visit Syria by mid-September to relaunch relations between Paris and Damascus, which have been tense since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al Hariri in 2005.
France believes the killing was orchestrated from Damascus, a charge that Assad has denied.
Assad met Lebanese President Michel Suleiman for the first time as well as the Qatari Amir Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who helped broker a power-sharing deal among Lebanon's pro-Western and pro-Syrian factions in May.
France and many other Western nations have shunned Syria in recent years, turning it into a virtual pariah state, accusing Assad of destabilising neighbouring Lebanon and fuelling unrest across its borders with Iraq.
The high-profile gathering not only gives Assad the chance to hold his first meeting with Suleiman but, in a diplomatic first, take part in a summit that includes Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who flies into Paris today.
Today's summit will draw more than 40 heads of state and government to Paris and is aimed at breathing new life into the existing Euro-Med partnership, creating a more equal dialogue between countries lining the Mediterranean.
Earlier, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met Sarkozy.
Sarkozy asked Assad to help resolve the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme by persuading Tehran to co-operate with the international community.
Assad expressed doubt that his intervention could help.
He added that Iran is not seeking to obtain nuclear weapons.
l King Mohammed VI of Morocco will not attend the summit but is sending his brother Prince Moulay Rachid.
PHOTO CAPTION
Syrian President Bashar Assad gestures during a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Saturday, July 12, 2008. (AP)
Gulf Daily