On al-Assad's visit to France
Syria-France, Politics, 6/24/2001

Well-informed French sources said that Paris will ask President Bashar al-Assad who will pay a state visit to France to abstain from opposing the report and recommendations of the Mitcell report as well as to refrain from challenging the Egyptian- Jordanian initiative.

The London- based al-Sharq al-Awsat daily quoted the sources as saying that the French President Jacques Chirac and the prime minister Lionel Jospin will stress to President al-Assad that Mitchell's report and the Jordanian- Egyptian initiative are the elements that are available at the meantime to calm down the condition in the Palestinian territories and to ensure cease- fire and that it is in the interests of Syria to revitalize the two initiatives because their absence means that the already prevailing tension in the occupied territories will be converted into a regional conflict that will be not in the interest of Syria.

The sources repeated that all efforts should be poured at the meantime on dealing with the tense conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories but that without ignoring the Syrian- Israeli and Lebanese - Israeli files.

However, these forces consider that there are not other prospects at the meantime to re-open the file of the Syrian- Israeli or Lebanese- Israeli negotiations.

In regard to the regional conditions, the situation in south Lebanon will be the focal point of interest during President al-Assad's visit to Paris.

To this effect the French sources said that Paris will stress how the situation is fragile and the need of Syria's continued commitment to avoid carrying out any operation that will result in exploding the conditions on the Lebanese- Israeli borders.

Despite its continued concern over the possible deterioration of the situation in South Lebanon, the French sources see that there is no great danger in South Lebanon, noting that the Hizbullah Party has used military operations in Shebaa farms to continue asserting its own existence.

The French sources consider that it is difficult for Israel to deal with two fronts at the same time and despite of that one operation for the Hizbullah that would cause great casualties in the Israeli side that would result to a violent Israeli reaction, which means that Israel will re- attack Syrian positions in Lebanon to be retaliated by the Hizbullah party by striking positions inside Israel.

Previous Stories:
  Al-Assad's comprehensive statement to French TV   (6/22/2001)
  On al-Assad's visit to France   (6/21/2001)
  On President Bashar al-Assad's visit to France   (6/20/2001)

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