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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| France severs ties with Syria 'until further notice' |
| 2007-12-30 |
| French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Sunday that his country will hold no more discussions with Syria until Damascus shows its willingness to let Lebanon elect a new president. Lebanon's Western-backed government and pro-Syrian opposition have been unable to overcome their disagreements to follow through with the election, and many Western countries have accused Damascus of interfering in the process - a claim Syria denies. "I will not have any more contact with the Syrians until... we have received proof of Syria's intention to let Lebanon designate a president of consensus," said Sarkozy at a press conference in Cairo after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. France, Lebanon's former colonial ruler, has led the international effort to mediate between feuding Lebanese politicians and has consistently implored the Syrians to cooperate. The French president spoke with Syrian President Bashar Assad as recently as the beginning of December to urge him to "facilitate" the election in Lebanon. Sarkozy sent his chief of staff, Claude Gueant, to Damascus in early November, and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner met his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem earlier that month on the sidelines of an Iraq conference in Turkey. "France has taken the responsibility of talking with Syria," said Sarkozy. "One must recognize today that we cannot wait any longer, Syria must stop talking and now must act." Syria has denied meddling with the election and has accused the French of working too closely with the US, which Damascus claims is trying to manipulate the Lebanese political process for its own interests - an accusation Washington denies. Mubarak also called on Syria to push Lebanese politicians to follow through with the election, saying it was "illogical" for the country to go without a president for so long. "I ask Syria, with its influence, to intervene so that the parliament meets and elects a president," said Mubarak at the press conference. "I call on Syria to do so because it has more influence on the conflicting parties than the others." |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #1 France has a leader. Vive la France. |
| Posted by: doc 2007-12-30 18:59 |