Syrian Agency Reports Syrian, French, Lebanese, Qatari Leaders’ News Conference

Text of report in English by Syrian News Agency SANA website

["Joint News Conference of Presidents al-Asad, Sarkozy, Sulayman and Emir of Qatar " - SANA headline]

Paris, 12 Jul(SANA) – President Bashar al-Asad said he thanked French President Nicolas Sarkozy for inviting him and the invitation for the mini quartet summit and for his firm commitment to what has been agreed upon in Saturday’s meetings.

President al-Asad, in a joint news conference in Paris with President Sarkozy, Lebanese President Michel Sulayman and Emir of Qatar Shaykh Hamad Bin-Khalifah Al Thani, added that his bilateral meetings with Sarkozy and alter with the Syrian and French delegations and then the quartet Summit discussed different topics, and he thinks that the quartet meeting was very important in its content and timing.

President al-Asad added that “what has been achieved about Lebanon since Doha Agreement under the sponsorship of the State of Qatar and His Highness the Emir of Qatar was great but not sufficient…Doha Agreement has placed Lebanon on the right direction, and moved the country from the edge of civil war to a stage where the Lebanese can make dialogue on the future of their country.”

The President said that “as for the issue of the embassies…I have been repeating this stance for three years since 2005…our stance is still in principle…there is no problem in opening embassies between Syria and Lebanon. We said there are legal steps of course through an initiative from President Michel Sulayman and from the Lebanese government which hasn’t yet started its contacts with us.”

He added that “today there are indirect negotiations with Israel through the Turkish mediator to restore confidence between the parties: Syria and Israel…this confidence today doesn’t exist because of the stop of the peace process for eight years and the repeated Israeli aggressions on Syria and Lebanon. When there is a common ground for the peace process we move to the second stage to the direct talks.”

The President said the American role in the peace process is basic, but the European role is very necessary …the American role cannot replace the European role and specifically the French role now …both of them complements each other. We agreed that there will be communication or coordination and cooperation between us and the French government on the details of the peace process…”

President al-Asad said on Iran’s issue or the nuclear dossier that “we cannot judge things without seeing them….I was frank with President Sarkozy on this point and all the other points…we first see that the solution should only be political…we cannot think of another solution as its repercussions would be dangerous today, and the second point is that the Syrian stance is based on freeing the Middle East from all weapons of mass destruction. As far as we know there is no military project…but we are against any nuclear presence or mass destruction weapons in the region.”

For his part, President Sarkozy said that after the election of President Sulayman he will have the opportunity to visit Beirut.

He added that “I say to President Bashar al-Asad that it’s very important that Syria plays a full role in the regions’ affairs…it’s important for France the dialogue which we have chosen to make between us…it’s a frank, clear and honest dialogue….Syria plays a main role in that regard.”

President Sarkozy said that President al-Asad’s willingness to open a Syrian diplomatic representation in Lebanon and Lebanon opening a similar representation in Syria were historical progress and great news for many French.

“France encourages the current indirect talks between Syria and Israel…this initiative is useful for the Syrians and Israelis…it’s a positive initiative in this part of the region which has been for years waiting for such happy news. I assure that once the direct talks start between them, France will be side by side with the US as sponsors to the talks…all of what is going to happen in the US over the next few months will be for the benefit of this process.”

He added that he and Bernard Kouchner will be visiting Damascus in September “to start new relations and strategic structure.”

He said that he asked Syria to help in solving the Iranian problem, adding that “President Asad knows the Iranians statements that they do not want top get nuclear weapons…so we asked Syria to help in this regard.”

For his part Lebanese President Michel Sulayman said the summit meeting provided opportunity to discuss the issues of common interest. “We particularly discussed the future bilateral Lebanese- Syrian relations. Lebanon is looking forward to establishing best relations between the two sisterly countries.

“I had already discussed this issue with my brother His Excellency President Bashar al-Asad and agreed on the importance of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries after the formation of the national government.”

He added that Lebanon encourages every step that could lead to the establishment of the just, comprehensive and permanent peace in the Middle East.

Emir of Qatar Shaykh Hamad said the most important thing in the talks was the Syrian-French rapprochement which has become clear and serves the issue of peace in the region.

He added that France had a vital role to play in the region because of its geographical and cultural proximity since long ages.

The Emir expressed his country’s permanent readiness to stand by Lebanon.

Originally published by SANA news agency website, Damascus in English 12 Jul 08.

(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Middle East. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.