French Could Assist US-Syrian Thaw

France may play a central role in repairing relations between Syria and the new American administration, the pro-government newspaper Al-Watan argued on November 24.



The newspaper said the recent warming of French-Syrian relations had led to France itself, along with other countries, floating the idea that it could try to bring Syria and the United States together.



Al-Watan quoted unnamed senior French officials as saying that their country had not made a move yet but might do so after Barack Obama takes office as president. The source said that Paris did not see itself as a mediator, but that it would be in a position to talk about progress the Syrians had made and to underline how important it was for the Americans to engage in dialogue with them on regional matters such as Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.



The newspaper reported that French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner told the Washington-based Brookings Institute earlier this month that "a converging European-American attitude could help Syria realise that it has more to gain from breaking with its past and getting closer to us”.



This was, however, an edited version of Kouchner’s remarks – in fact, he said Syria might be helped to “realise that it has more to gain from breaking with its past – above all in terms of its support for terrorism – and getting closer to us, than from continuing its current relationship with Iran”.



Al-Watan argued that France itself stood to gain by promoting a Syrian-US dialog, since its special relationship with Damascus would give it greater credibility in addressing issues to do with Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine.