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Sarkozy visit Syria on peace efforts
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-04 10:34 DAMASCUS -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy started on Wednesday a two-day official visit to Syria in efforts to push forward peace in the region and boost bilateral ties between the two countries. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held talks with Sarkozy after an official welcoming ceremony, during which the two leaders discussed situations in the Middle East, especially in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinians territories, according to the official SANA news agency. Efforts to establish peace in the region and improve bilateral ties in all fields, were also discussed, SANA said.
Assad hailed at a joint press conference with Sarkozy afterwards that their talks were "frank and constructive," saying "the main point of our talks today was the stability in the Middle East, and subsequently the peace process and the indirect talks underway between Syria and Israel in Turkey." "We have made an assessment of the stage the negotiations have reached and the future horizons of this process and the French role which we talked about during my visit to Paris nearly two months ago," Assad continued. Answering a question on the start of direct peace talks with Israel, Assad stressed that there should first be confidence-building among the parties and the basis and terms of references. "After that we can move on to the direct negotiations, which requires the US and other parties," added Assad. For his part, Sarkozy said France supports the indirect peace negotiations under Turkish mediation, stressing his country's readiness to be one of the sponsors of this process when it is time to do so. "We are building our relations with President Bashar al-Assad step by step ... and we want to be relations of confidence," noted Sarkozy. Meanwhile, Assad hailed France's role in the region, saying "France has a special status in the Arab world and we in Syria are content over the efforts by Sarkozy to strengthen the relations between France and the Arab world on the basis of mutual respect, joint interests and constant, continuous dialogue." "We have always called for an active European role in the Middle East, and we feel happy over the return of this role through the new dynamic of French policy," Assad added.
On the Iranian nuclear issue, Sarkozy called on Syria to play a role in solving Iran's nuclear dispute with the West. "Syria can play a role in Iran's nuclear issue. Iran must not obtain nuclear weapons, ... but it has the right of peaceful use of the nuclear energy," Sarkozy said. "There is a relationship of trust between Syria and Iran ... Itis my duty to explain to President Assad the danger of the current situation and we should take all initiatives to achieve peace," said Sarkozy. Sarkozy added that France opposes that Iran has nuclear weapons, emphasizing that possession of these weapons poses a threat to the region and the world. Assad said Iran's nuclear issue can only be solved through dialogue and peaceful means, warning against a catastrophe if Iran was attacked. "It is clear that there is a lack of confidence between Iran and the parties involved in this issue," said Assad, adding that "the main point that concerns us is how Syria could play a role in building this confidence." "Nobody in the world can bear the consequences of any non-peaceful solution because it would result in a disaster," warned Assad. Sarkozy, the first western head of state to visit Syria in years, arrived here earlier for a two-day official visit. During Sarkozy's stay, Assad would host a four-way summit on Thursday which also includes Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. The summit was widely seen of importance, as France holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, Syria similarly takes the rotating chairmanship of the Arab League, and Qatar currently heads the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council. Besides, Turkey's Erdogan has mediated indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel for four rounds since May and Qatar's Emir brokered an agreement between rival Lebanese parties in Doha in May. France froze high-level official contacts with Syria shortly after the assassination of former Lebanese Rafik Hariri in 2005 and led international pressure against Syria. But Syria's role in supporting reconciliation in Lebanon and its indirect peace talks with Israel contributed to a shift of France's policy towards Damascus and helped facilitate Sarkozy's historic trip, which would further pull Damascus out of an international isolation it suffers for years. |
