U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has expressed the hope that French authorities will try to send the right message to Syria, both on Lebanon and ongoing peace negotiations with Israel, the French media has reported.
The U.S. chief diplomat who was addressing reporters in Paris showed little enthusiasm when asked to comment on the decision of French President Sarkozy to send emissaries to Damascus and invite his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad for a summit in Paris.
French authorities have extended an invitation to President Assad to attend the Paris heads of state and government summit to discuss the launch of the proposed Union for the Mediterranean, Sarkozy's pet project, according to diplomatic sources.
"Well, I suppose the message to President Assad will be the same as everyone else has been sending to him," said the secretary of state. Rice was responding to a question on the sidelines of an official visit to Paris where she is scheduled to take part in a donors' conference for Afghanistan on Thursday.
"This message is that Syria must take advantage of all the opportunities that will be presented to it during indirect negotiations with the Israelis that are being facilitated by the Turks," said the U.S. diplomat.
"Syria must fulfill its obligations under resolutions 1559 and 1701 of the United Nations Security Council, which bars it from interfering in the affairs of Lebanon, demarcate its border with Lebanon and send an ambassador there as would any responsible state do," said Rice.
"Syria must support the efforts of the Palestinians and Israelis to find a lasting solution to their conflict based on two independent states, Israel and Palestine," said the U.S. secretary of state, adding: "If that is the message, I think that is very good."
With regard to the Mediterranean dialogue that President Sarkozy is pushing for, the U.S. diplomat said: "This will be a success if the parties are committed to a Middle East that is free of extremism."
"Rather than support and feed extremism, we should agree to support the efforts of certain fragile democratic countries to maintain their sovereignty in the face of mounting challenges," Rice was quoted as saying.
"If this is the message that will come out of the proposed Mediterranean dialogue, then this will be a good meeting," said the U.S. secretary of state, adding that a peaceful and prosperous Mediterranean region was for the benefit of everyone.
The United States, and by extension the West, has been at loggerheads with Damascus.
Source:Xinhua
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