French - Syrian preparations for al-Assad visit

Spokesman for the Syrian Presidency Jibran Koreyah said on Thursday that preparations are underway in Damascus for the visit of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad to France during the second half of July.

The Syrian spokesman gave no fixed date for the visit, which will be the first by the Syrian President to France in 22 years. Diplomatic sources in Damascus said that main issues to be discussed by the two Presidents will include the stumbled Middle East peace process and the Israeli conditional proposal to withdraw from South Lebanon.