| July 2008 - News |
| July 2008 |
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German, Syrian FMs discuss Lebanon and peace Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mu’allem discussed with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier bilateral relations between the two countries and developments in the Middle East, particularly Lebanon and the Syrian-Israeli peace process, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported on June 8. A statement from the German Foreign Ministry said Steinmeier and Mu’allem had agreed in a telephone conversation that the peace deal signed by Lebanon’s rivalling political factions in Qatar last month, which ended the country’s political crisis, “offers the best chance of a reconciliation process inside Lebanon”. “Steinmeier expressed his hope that, beyond this, there would now also be a normalisation of Syrian-Lebanese relations,” the statement added. Syria currently has no diplomatic relations with Lebanon. However, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with Kuwaiti newspapers last month that re-establishing diplomatic ties with Lebanon would be possible once a national unity cabinet is formed in Beirut. In recent years, Germany has made a number of attempts to draw Syria into efforts to solve the Middle East’s problems, whilst also publicly criticising the country, accusing Damascus of interfering in Lebanon’s internal political affairs. |