Mediterranean summit heralds new era for Syria

PARIS, July 10 (Chinese media) -- By attending the inaugural summit for the launch of the proposed Union for the Mediterranean in Paris, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will be making his grand return to the international diplomatic scene after several years in the wilderness.

"President al-Assad's new found visibility, on the international stage, will largely be attributable to the French president (Nicolas Sarkozy), who saw the wisdom of extending him an invitation for the Paris summit," said a Paris-based Middle East analyst.

Since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister RafikHariri in Beirut in 2005, relations between the West, and especially France, Lebanon's former colonial master, and Syria have turned cold.

The United Nations Security Council, which has since launched an international investigation into the murder, believes that Damascus was involved in the attack against the largely pro-West Hariri. Further, the West and its Arab allies accuse Syria of meddling and undermining the Lebanese government.

In the wake of the assassination, the then French president Jacques Chirac, who was a personal friend of the former premier, had decided to cut ties with the Syria, which has always denied any involvement in the attack.

In an interview Tuesday with the mainstream French media, al-Assad welcomed what he described as France's "new policy toward his country" attributing it to the election of President Nicolas Sarkozy in May 2007.

"(Former) President Jacques Chirac sought to link relations with Syria to his relations with certain personalities in Lebanon. President Nicolas Sarkozy, has on the other hand, adopted a more realistic approach to the whole issue," said al-Assad, adding that this had helped warm Franco-Syrian relations.

On Saturday, the Syrian president is set to hold face-to-face talks with Sarkozy, marking the first meeting between the heads of state of the two countries in many years.

The next day, the Syrian leader will take part in the inaugural UPM summit, where "almost all heads of state and government from the Mediterranean region and Europe" will be present, according to a statement issued by the French presidential palace

"I told Bashar al-Assad that Syria should let the Lebanese presidential process to move forward and we will resume official contacts. I'm happy to announce that we have resumed contact," said President Sarkozy in mid-June explaining the resumption of Paris-Damascus dialogue.

After months of political deadlock in Lebanon, the pro-West majority and the opposition, which is often seen as Pro-Syria, met in Doha, Qatar, and concluded an agreement paving the way for the formation of a government of national unity and election of consensus president.

During his interview with the French media, al-Assad was quoted as asking France to "play an important role" in the ongoing peace process in the Middle East, including the negotiations that are taking place between Syria and Israel through the mediation of Turkey.

But if the arrival of the Syrian president in Paris has been welcomed in Damascus, it has been accompanied by a hardening of attitudes in Lebanon. The largely pro-West majority has described the normalization of Paris-Damascus ties as "premature."

Before welcoming al-Assad to Paris, "We would like France to first obtain an assurance from Syria that it will change its attitude and behavior towards Lebanon," Amine Gemayel, one of the leaders of the majority, was quoted as saying in mid-June.

According to diplomatic sources, the Syrian President and his Lebanese counterpart Michel Sleimane are set to meet on the sidelines of the Paris summit to discuss the issue of diplomatic relations.

"The development of stronger economic and trade relations is also very important for both Syria and France," said one Syrian diplomat. Al-Assad, according to reliable sources, is keen "to boost cooperation in the fields of oil, energy, transport and aviation."

"In this respect, the political circumstances, which had put the countries at loggerheads, have disappeared. France is preparing for a broad economic and trade cooperation with Syria," the official Syrian daily as-Saoura reported Monday.

For the newspaper, the recent signing of an agreement with the French construction giant Lafarge for contracts worth 1.2 billion dollars for the construction of two cement factories in Syria is "a prelude to several huge French investment projects."