High-ranking French official arrives in Damascus tomorrow
Syria-France, Politics, 6/25/1999

US Undersecretary of State for Near East Affairs Martin Indyk held talks on Thursday in Paris with officials at the French Foreign Ministry, including the director of the Middle East and North Africa department, Eve Oban.

Well-informed sources in Paris said talks dealt with the Middle East peace process and Iraq and that the US expects a practical picture for the Middle East peace to be revealed as well as the inclination of the Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak.

The sources added concerning the Syrian-Israeli track, in light of contacts between the US and Syria and Israel and statements made on Wednesday by Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and Barak, that developments have created the conviction that this track will be resumed very soon, expecting that this track will be resumed in the month which follows the formation of the Israeli government.

Meanwhile, France is moving to hold contacts on top levels with each of Syria and the Palestinian Authority in order to know what the two sides expect from France and Europe in the framework of reviving the Middle East peace. In this framework, the French director of the Middle East and North Africa department at the Foreign Ministry, Eve Oban, for the first time since he assumed office will tomorrow visit Damascus and then the Palestinian territories. He will return on Sunday to Paris. The importance of the visit of the French official to Damascus lies in that he had served in the French embassy in Damascus.

On Wednesday, French President Jacques Chirac made telephone calls to President al-Assad and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in order to brief the two men on the talks he and his European counterparts held concerning the Middle East peace process during the G-8 summit held in Cologne, Germany.

Chirac's phone call with al-Assad is considered the second French initiative towards reactivating dialogue between the two countries following the meeting held in Stuttgart between French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and his Syrian counterpart, Farouk al-Sharaa, who decided to resume dialogue between the two countries.

The visit of the French official is the first for a high-ranking French official in Damascus since the state visit held by President Hafez al-Assad to Paris in July, 1998.

Previous Stories:
  Al-Assad, Chirac review Middle East developments   (6/23/1999)
  French business team in Damascus   (4/27/1999)
  Al-Assad in Paris: Peace is Syria's strategic choice   (7/17/1998)

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