Courting time
Sarkozy is trying to heal the rift with Syria but has little to show as yet, Bassel Oudat writes from Damascus
The beginning was rather auspicious. When Bashar Al-Assad was still an officer in the Syrian army, former president Jacques Chirac invited him to Paris and gave him a magnificent reception in the Elysee Palace. Observers took that to be a French endorsement of the future president of Syria. The goodwill was mutual. As soon as Al-Assad junior took power, he voiced hopes for closer ties with France across the board. The French responded by sending experts to help out with administration, banking, finance, the judiciary, and other aspects of the Syrian economy. Chirac appointed one of his top aids as ambassador to Syria and told him to make sure things go nice and easy at the other end.
Worried about Washington's intentions, Al-Assad wanted France on his side. If France is friendly then perhaps the rest of Europe would be too, the Syrians hoped. But the Paris- Damascus honeymoon was short-lived. France didn't get the contracts it was hoping for. Although Chirac interceded on behalf of French companies, the Europeans and Americans grabbed most of the lucrative contracts -- perhaps the French didn't notice that they had to partner with top level Syrian officials to get things done in Damascus.
As time went by, the French grew weary of the Syrians, feeling they had been taken for granted and that all Damascus cared about was using them as a bulwark against the US. But things didn't get really bad till mid-2004, when Syria supported (some said ordered) the extension of Emile Lahud's presidential term by three years. The move was fiercely opposed by the Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri, a personal friend of Chirac. In response, the French and the Americans joined forces and got the UN Security Council to pass Resolution 1559, which called for the election of a new president in Lebanon and for all foreign forces (that is, Syrian and Palestinian) to pull out of Lebanon.
Chirac saw the extension of Lahud's term as an affront. Not only was Al-Hariri a close friend of Chirac's, the Syrians were brazenly challenging French influence in Lebanon. Resolution 1559 was a watershed. After it was passed, Damascus started regarding Chirac's policies as outright hostile.
Things changed when Sarkozy came to power. For the past few months, the French president has been trying to resolve the Lebanese crisis and restore French influence in Lebanon. The French soon realised that progress would be hard in Lebanon without the consent of Damascus, and soon, both the Syrians and the French were exploring ways to bridge the rift.
Thus, did Bashar Al-Assad arrive in France for Sarkozy's latest pet project, the conference on the Union for the Mediterranean, with a ringside seat for the 14 July national celebrations thrown in for free, ending four years of political estrangement. The official Syrian press hailed the visit as historic and groundbreaking. For the time being, it seems that Paris and Damascus are reading from the same page. Or at least, this is how things are being portrayed in Syria. According to one Syrian commentator, the visit "launched bilateral relations on a new course of multi-faceted cooperation." But just how true is that?
The very idea of a meeting between Sarkozy and Al-Assad was unimaginable a few months ago. But Syria has been going out of its way to show its goodwill. Syria started indirect talks with Israel, distanced itself a little from Iran, invited international investigators to look into its alleged nuclear programme, stayed on its best behaviour in Iraq, and left the Palestinians alone -- all of which are things duly noted by the French.
But there was no free lunch at the Elysee. "French-Syrian relations would have to abide by the framework approved by the US, the EU foreign policy regulations, and the limitations imposed by the close friendship between Sarkozy and Israel," a senior French diplomat in Damascus told Al-Ahram Weekly. "French relations with Syria will not go to the next level unless Syria respects international resolutions concerning Lebanon. Syria must meet the demands of the international community concerning its alleged nuclear programme. It must endorse the international tribunal handling the assassination Al-Hariri. And it cannot ignore Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two major countries who are currently suspicious of the Syrian regime. France has extensive oil, economic, and financial relations with both Saudi Arabia and Egypt," the dour diplomat said.
But as with many other of Sarkozy's frantic plans, he appears to be trying to do the impossible, squaring a stubborn circle. His burning desire to make the new "Club Med" a success meant overlooking all the tedious diplomatic criticisms of Syria. Syrian analyst Riyad Tabra said, "If Syria stays away from the summit, that would be quite damaging, especially now that Sarkozy is staking his reputation on that summit. It was the invitation to Al-Assad that stopped a summit in Libya from issuing a statement denouncing the Mediterranean summit," Tabra said.
Of course, there is some effort at damage control. The French now argue that Damascus has changed its position on Lebanon, it is starting indirect talks with Israel, and that it could be tempted to replace Iran with Turkey as an ally. But just how true is that?
And nothing comes without a cost. There have been lots of cries of protest. Several French parties and figures objected to the "dictator" sitting on the reviewing stand on 14 July and noted that Al-Assad must show more respect for freedom in his country. The French Socialist Party said that Al-Assad's appearance at the Mediterranean conference was fine, but not his participation in the 14 July celebrations.
The centre-right Union for French Democracy, led by François Bayrou, called for "thinking carefully" before inviting the Syrian president. Even French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said that he was not "particularly pleased" with the visit. The Elysee Palace tried to give the impression that it could bring Al-Assad and Olmert together at one table, and it leaked the news to the press in an attempt to appease its critics. This did not happen.
Although visibly thrilled with the French invitation, Damascus said that it had no intention of adjusting its policies to please Paris. Asaad Abboud, chief editor of the government-run newspaper Al-Thawrah, wrote that "Syria is bound to France with historic, good, and outstanding relations... and those relations must not be tested by conditions or dictates." He added that Syria was willing to turn a new page with France but only "on the basis of equality and common interests."
The Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem voiced optimism over the French move. Syria and Damascus "decided to turn a new leaf in their relations and work together for peace and stability in the Middle East... and the visit of President Al-Assad to Paris will be a milestone in our bilateral relations."
Damascus maintains that it was France that finally saw the light, as indeed appears to be the case, while the French are waiting for concrete steps on Syria's part. A senior French diplomatic source in Damascus told the Weekly that, "away from the media glare, France hopes that its overture towards Syria would be useful and effective. We are waiting for the Syrians to take steps vindicating their relationship with France, a relationship that, if positive, could herald broader ties with Europe... France is reaching out to Syria, and it is the outcome of this overture that would define the horizons of relations between the two."
An unintentional outcome of the French Mediterranean union seems to be a new dynamic in the relations between France and Syria. Perhaps something good will come from Sarkozy's latest flip-flop.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/906/re33.htm