Sarkozy in Damascus
Randa Takieddine Al-Hayat - 27/08/08//
The visit by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner to Damascus was characterized by "mutual caution" and French vigilance vis-à-vis any Syrian promises about Lebanon. Kouchner visited Damascus, which warmly welcomed him on the eve of the visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Syria next week. This visit is due to cement a new beginning in French-Syrian relations.
After his visit to Damascus, Kouchner said that he had left "with eyes open and constant alertness," but observed that there should be a benefit from a Syrian opening to France, and progress on convincing Syria of the need to normalize its ties with Lebanon.
It is clear that Syria gave Sarkozy the present of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria. Last Thursday, the Lebanese government approved the opening of an embassy in Damascus. We are now hearing that the Syrian Parliament will meet to approve establishing diplomatic relations with Lebanon. France expects an exchange of ambassadors before the end of the year. This is an important symbolic matter from the historical point of view and should be welcomed, even though it could have been accomplished more quickly. Such a move does not require months for implementation, but we can wait three additional months to achieve this key step, after decades without any diplomatic relations between the two countries.
As for the six points that Lebanese President Michel Suleiman discussed with his Syrian counterpart, the French believe that things are taking a long time to be solved. With regard to the Shebaa Farms, Paris has been aware since the visit prior to July's Mediterranean Summit by the French team led by Claude Gueant, the secretary-general of the French presidency, that Damascus was not ready to officially recognize that the Shebaa Farms were Lebanese, as long as the Syrian Golan Heights remained occupied. The issue of demarcating the Lebanese-Syrian borders is taking a long time, in France's view. The issue of the Lebanese missing in Syrian prisons is an important one, and one that concerns the Lebanese president personally. He is involved in the matter for humanitarian reasons and has committed himself before the families of the missing to strive for a solution. The hard-line Syrian side, however, raises the fate of the Syrians missing in Lebanon, even though Lebanon was subject to Syrian tutelage during this period.
Sarkozy's visit to Damascus will be significant for the normalization of ties between Syria and France, even though the French president insists that Lebanon should be the basis of this normalization. France was a godfather of UN Security Resolution 1559, although it was issued during the presidency of Jacques Chirac. However, Paris does not go back on Security Council resolutions that it backed itself. Establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries is the first step on the road to implementing the Resolution 1559, but much remains to be done. The question is whether Damascus is ready to alter the way it deals with the Lebanese issue. This is what Sarkozy will discover in the renewed relations between France and Syria. The French president might give much to Syria if it shows him that it will deal differently with its neighbor than in the past. Sarkozy is determined to test by himself the quality of Syria's behavior and its commitment to its promises. It is true that Sarkozy is concerned with Syrian-Israeli negotiations and that France would like to take part alongside the US in direct talks. However, we are still distant from such a scenario, especially in light of Israeli political developments following Olmert's resignation as prime minister.
We hope that Sarkozy's visit to Damascus is fruitful and that the French president comes out with tangible results vis-à-vis the future of the Lebanese-Syrian relationship.
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