The Syrian Foreign Minister, Abdel Halim Khaddam, arrived in Paris today to discuss the situation in Lebanon with French officials.
His trip coincided with France’s reaffirmation of its tentative offer to help maintain peace in Lebanon under certain and specific conditions. The reaffirmation came in response to an appeal for French diplomatic and political help from the Lebanese Moslem‐leftist leader, Kamal Jumblat.
The French Foreign Minister, Jean Sauvagnargues, said in a broadcast that he would discuss the French offer with Mr. Khaddam. The French minister also said he would not rule out a possibility that the opposing factions in Lebanon might eventually hold a peace conference in Paris.
French officials emphasized that the peacekeeping offer was still intact with the conditions originally described by President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing during his recent visit to the United States. These were that French troops would go to Lebanon to help maintain order only if all the factions agreed and if a legitimate Lebanese Government accepted the proposal after the establishment of a cease fire.
