| July 2008 - News |
| July 2008 |
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Assad discusses bilateral ties with French delegates Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with two senior aides of French President Nicolas Sarkozy on June 15 to discuss bilateral relations and the political situation in the Middle East. Assad held talks with Sarkozy’s chief of staff Claude Guéant and his diplomatic advisor Jean-David Levitte. The talks covered recent developments in Lebanon, the Syrian-Israeli peace talks and Sarkozy’s plan for a Mediterranean Union which will be launched at a summit in Paris on July 13. Syrian-French relations deteriorated following the 2005 assassination of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a close friend of then serving French president Jacques Chirac. The intense international pressure which followed the killing of Hariri led to Syria withdrawing its troops from Lebanon two months later, ending a three-decade military presence in the country. Relations with Syria’s former colonial occupier have been on the mend in recent months, boosted by Syrian assistance in pushing through the Doha Agreement in May which ended Lebanon’s political crisis. “The talks were constructive, reflecting agreement on the need to reinforce Syrian-French relations and to continue efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region,” Syria’s official news agency SANA reported. |