Assad Has Kept His Commitments Regarding Lebanon
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Syrian leader Bashar Assad has stuck by his commitments to France regarding Lebanon, stressing that his idea not to ignore Syria has proved useful in Lebanon”s stability.
"I have been subject to a lot of criticism when I opened dialogue channels with President Assad," Sarkozy said in an interview with France 5 television on the eve of French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner”s visit to Beirut.
"I had long believed that resolving the Lebanon crisis by ignoring Syria reflects unfamiliarity with both the history of Lebanon and Syria," he added.
"I believe in a Lebanon independent of Syria. I would like to say that till now Bashar Assad has kept his commitments toward me," Sarkozy announced.
He stressed that France "wants to be friends with all the Lebanese without exceptions."
"At the end, however, the majority won elections by a big margin. From here, we can see that what we have decided is not going to facilitate the work of this group or that. I am thinking of Hizbullah in particular," Sarkozy went on to say.
"Why is there a need for defending Lebanon? Because it is one of the last countries to enjoy diversity. Both the Middle East and the Near East are in need of diversity," Sarkozy believed.