DAMASCUS, Syria, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- After more than two years of strained ties over the slaying of ex-Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, France said it seeks better relations with Syria.
France's new ambassador in Syria Michel Duclos handed his credentials to Foreign Minister Waleed Muallem Wednesday, after which he declared that he is determined to work on improving his country's relations with Damascus.
The official Syrian News Agency, SANA, said Muallem received Duclos' credentials at a meeting during which "they discussed bilateral relations whereby the new French ambassador affirmed his intention to improve relations in all fields."
Syrian-French ties were sharply strained since Hariri's assassination on Feb. 14, 2005, following serious tensions triggered by France's role in passing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 in September 2004.
Damascus considers France and the United States responsible for the resolution which forced Syria to quit Lebanon in April 2005, after almost three decades of a controversial military and intelligence presence that placed Lebanon under Syrian hegemony.
