- – Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam embarked on a surprise visit to Paris on Sunday to engage in talks with French officials focusing on issues related to the suspended peace process in the Middle East.
For France, the visit of Syrian officials marks the first diplomatic engagement of the New Year, while the troubling situation in the region remains a top concern.
French President Jacques Chirac, who visited Damascus a year ago, will receive the envoys of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad on Monday morning. On Tuesday, Khaddam and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara will hold talks with French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin for the first time. Observers anticipated this visit, which comes just one week before Vedrine’s visit to Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, may cause some confusion. It appears that the grave situation in the region, rather than the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, compelled Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad to dispatch his envoy to the French capital. It should be noted that Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations have been stalled since February 1911. Syria insists on resuming negotiations from the point where they left off, specifically with the promise of a complete withdrawal from the Golan Heights.
Thus far, Washington seems to have focused its attention on the Palestinian-Israeli track of the peace process, while sidelining the Syrian and Lebanese aspects.
However, U.S. Senator Arlen Spector, currently visiting Damascus and received by Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, emphasized President Bill Clinton’s desire to effectively intervene in order to revive peace negotiations between Syria and Israel. The Republican senator, on his second visit traveling between Syria and Israel in less than two months, acknowledged the existing “gap between Syria and Israel.” The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East, Martin Indyk, conducted a tour of the region in mid-December, including Damascus and Beirut, in an effort to advance the peace process. Yves Doutrieux, spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, stated, “It is worth noting that the trends of the Israeli government are not encouraging.” Prior to Vedrine’s visit to Turkey, the two Syrian officials may also address the issue of joint exercises that Turkey, Israel, and the United States are preparing to conduct in the eastern Mediterranean from Monday until January 1.
These exercises, with Jordan’s participation as an observer, are of utmost concern to Syria.
