The French president is visiting Syria to meet with President Bashar al-Assad, KUNA, the Kuwait news agency, reported Wednesday.

After meeting with al-Assad, the French president called on the Syrian leader to work to persuade the Iranians to jettison their nuclear aspirations.

Sarkozy said while the government in Tehran should not be allowed to possess nuclear arms, it should be able to pursue nuclear facilities for civilian purposes.

For his part, al-Assad said the Iranian nuclear dilemma can only be solved through diplomacy. He warned that military action against the Islamic republic would be a mistake.