French President Nicolas Sarkozy paid a short visit to Syria on Tuesday during which he asked Syriato pressure Hamas in order to achieve a solution to the escalation in the Gaza Strip.
Sarkozy went into talks with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad immediately after his arrival with the attendance of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and EU envoy on the Middle East peace process Marc Otte.
Assad and Sarkozy reviewed "the serious situation of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing Israeli aggression," the official SANA news agency said.
"Syria can offer a solution in Gaza, Syria indicated that it was working for peace and I have no doubt that Assad would make all efforts to reach a solution," Sarkozy told a press conference after the meeting.
He added that Assad can play a role in persuading Hamas to halt rocket fire and work towards national reconciliation, urging Syriato "convince Hamas to choose the voice of reason and the path of peace and the path of reconciliation."
The French president condemned the Israeli "disproportionate reaction" in Gaza while describing firing of rockets by Hamas on Israel as "inadmissible."
Sarkozy called for cooperation of all parties, saying "we want an immediate solution by all parties, including Syria, Egypt and Europe, Turkey and the circle of peace, and we will get out of the cycle of violence."
Meanwhile, Sarkozy hoped a humanitarian corridor to be created into the Gaza Strip, saying "we must exert all efforts to allow humanitarian aid to reach the people of the Gaza Strip. I hope that European non-governmental organizations will manage to enter Gaza today."
Assad, whose country, along with Iran, has long been a supporter of Hamas, strongly condemned again at the press conference the "barbaric" attacks on Gaza as a "war crime" which he said "need to be stopped immediately."
He compared the situation in Gaza to a "concentration camp" which aimed at "breaking the will of the whole people."
The Syrian leader called for a lift of the Israeli blockade against Gaza, which he said "constitutes a nonmilitary declaration of war and a slow death."
Assad, currently holding the rotating presidency of the Arab summit, also reiterated his call for an emergency Arab summit, stressing Syria's readiness to exert all efforts and cooperation with all parties to reach a solution in Gaza.
Sarkozy is currently on a Middle East tour in a bid to seek a ceasefire in Gaza, which has taken him to Egypt, Israel and the West Bank. He will head for Beirut after leaving Damascus.
Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza Strip on Dec. 27 and ground operation on Jan. 3 in retaliation of Hamas militants' rocket attacks into Israel. At least 590 Palestinians have been killed and some 2,700 others wounded in the Israeli attack.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article