
DAMASCUS, Syria, July 12 (UPI) -- The office of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Sunday the leader reached a deal aimed at improving ties between his country and France.
The presidential office said in a statement that al-Assad and visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner reached an agreement for improved relations and a bilateral focus on the problems facing the Middle East, the Kuwait news agency KUNA reported.
Among the two officials' goals are the creation of a national unity government in Lebanon and continued support of national unity efforts by the Iraqi government.
Kouchner said French President Nicolas Sarkozy supports increased bilateral ties with Syria. The French minister was also to meet with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mualem Sunday.
"Syria and France share similar views that Israel should stop all forms of Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied territories and lift the blockade on Gaza Strip in order to prepare the ground for the resumption of the peace talks," al-Mualem said of the two countries' approaches to the Middle East.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Additional Top News Stories | |
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (UPI) --
A woman who says she had an affair with President John F. Kennedy wrote that she didn't feel at the time she was "invading the Kennedys' marriage."
|
MESA, Calif., Feb. 10 (UPI) --
Jesse Farrelly, the 20-year-old son of filmmaker Bobby Farrelly, has died in Costa Mesa, Calif., after a long battle with drug addiction, his family said.
|
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (UPI) --
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the construction of two new nuclear reactors, the first to be built in the United States since 1978.
|
OTTAWA, Feb. 10 (UPI) --
A village in Canada with a population of 34 is disputing its disappearance as reported in Statistics Canada's census figures released this week.
|
| Stories | Photos | People | Comments |
View Caption