French envoy Maurice Couve de Murville arrived in Damascus on Sunday for talks with Syrian leaders on the Lebanon crisis. His first talks in the Syrian capital were with Foreign Minister Abdel-Halim Khaddam.
The two men’s discussed the eight months of war which has claimed at least four thousand victims in neighboring Lebanon. The former French Premier was later expected to meet Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad during his two-day visit on the outcome of his ten-day peace mission in Lebanon.
In Beirut, M. Couve de Murville held a news conference before leaving for Syria.
He told newsmen he was going to Damascus because Syria was Lebanon’s neighbour, and therefore, was directly concerned with what was happening there.
M. Couve de Murville said he thought it would be useful to explain to Syrian leaders the spirit in which the French peace mission had taken place and the conclusions that were reached.
He said Lebanese leaders had made real progress towards ending the fighting among political and religious communities.
M. Couve de Murville said he wanted to exchange views with the Syrians on the Lebanese situation. He said he felt the spirit of the peace mission would continue in Syria as he believed the Syrians, like the French, felt it was necessary that Lebanon remained a united country.