FRENCH AMBASSADOR UPBEAT ON ASAD TRIP TO PARIS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000807

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA
PARIS FOR NOBLES, LONDON FOR LORD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2019
TAGS: FR PGOV PREL SY
SUBJECT: FRENCH AMBASSADOR UPBEAT ON ASAD TRIP TO PARIS,
FRENCH-SYRIAN RELATIONS

Classified By: CDA Charles Hunter, Reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary: The French ambassador to Syria characterized
Syrian President Bashar al-Asad,s recent visit to Paris as a
&PR success8 for Damascus that allowed Asad to make
positive impressions on all his interlocutors. The main
focus was Middle East peace and other regional issues.
Contrary to media reports there was little economic content
to the meetings (though Asad offered perspectives on the
relative pace of economic and political development in Syria)
nor much discussion of the France-Syria bilateral
relationship. Apart from an agreement to disagree on the
Iranian nuclear file, the two sides apparently had largely
convergent views. The stalled EU association agreement has
Paris looking at ways to help offset the short-term negative
economic consequences of signing. Asad was ¬ negative or
aggressive8 in his estimation of U.S. engagement with Syria
but noted that he has &other things to do8 while the
relationship improves. End summary.

2. (C) French Ambassador to Syria Eric Chevallier provided
CDA with a readout on November 18 of Syrian President Bashar
al-Asad,s recent working visit to Paris. The November 12-13
trip, which he described as &very positive8 in the view of
both parties, comprised a working lunch with President
Sarkozy, a meeting with the president of the Senate and
several senators (including Sarkozy,s personal
representative for Syria, Philippe Marini),a two-hour
question-and-answer session with opinion leaders, and a
dinner with Elysee advisor Claude Gueant. Asad also gave a
television interview to France2 and met with members of the
expatriate Syrian community. According to Chevallier, Asad
left uniformly favorable impressions of his thoughtful and
reasoned approach to issues, resulting in a resounding public
relations success for Syria. The ambassador recounted that
after both the opinion leaders, round table and the TV
interview, his contacts, including some participants in the
events, had phoned him to say how well they thought the
Syrian leader had handled himself.
PEACE, REGIONAL ISSUES PREDOMINATE

3. (C) Much of the substance of the meetings has already been
reported in the media, including Asad,s affirmation that
Syria is ready to resume talks with Israel, via Turkish
mediation, from the point where they left off at the end of
the fourth round last year. Turkey is not necessarily the
only possibility, however, as the French are themselves
&working on8 the possibility of being involved in mediation
after Israeli PM Netanyahu expressed openness to that idea
days after Asad left Paris. Bashar voiced mild
disappointment in the results of U.S. peace efforts but
fingered Netanyahu as the main culprit in the current
stalemate. The Syrian leader was also quite insistent on the
need to get the Palestinians more unified, though not by
replacing the process the Egyptians had launched. Amb.
Chevallier reported that FM Muallim spoke with HAMAS leader
Khalid Meshaal before the trip and heard Meshaal say that he
was &ready to do more8 for the sake of reconciliation.

4. (C) On Lebanon, Asad joked that Sarkozy should blame him
for violating UNSCR 1559. &I interfered in the process8 )
as had the Saudis, he noted with approval ) &and we got a
government.8 Asad declared himself hopeful that renewed
Syrian relations with Riyadh would continue producing
cooperation to the benefit of stability in Lebanon. Iran,s
nuclear activities were the sole area of disagreement between
the leaders, with Asad critical of the "attitude8 of the
P5 1 prior to the explicit acceptance of Iran,s right to
civilian nuclear energy. Sarkozy raised the case of French
national Clothilde Reiss with Asad, who chided his host for
¬ recognizing enough8 what a gesture Tehran had made by
allowing Reiss to be released from prison pending her trial
(now underway). Asad apparently declined to intercede again
with the Iranians on her behalf, citing the need to &respect
Iran,s judicial process.8
LITTLE ON ECONOMICS ) OR U.S. ENGAGEMENT

5. (C) Media accounts that there was a substantial focus on
commercial and investment opportunities were incorrect, said
Chevallier. Nor was there ) or did there need to be ) much

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evaluation of the bilateral relationship, now on solid
footing after numerous reciprocal visits by high-level
officials. The ambassador confided that because there will
indeed be negative economic consequences for Syria in the
short term after the EU Association Agreement comes into
effect, Paris is looking at ways to mitigate that impact )
though not by offering direct compensation, he quickly added.

6. (C) Asad did offer perspectives on the domestic challenges
confronting Syria. Averring that economic modernization
would require political modernization as well, he defended
the choice of having one proceed more slowly than the other.
There had been some opening on the political side, he
claimed, citing the media as one example. But the economic
track was definitely moving faster &because sometimes you
have to start where you can do so the quickest.8 Bashar is
definitely hoping to leverage Syria,s status as a potential
trade bridge between north and south, east and west.
Chevallier shared a personal impression that for this reason
Syria would be aiming to encourage stability in Iraq, despite
a growing feeling that Iraqi PM Maliki &may not necessarily
lose8 the next elections, in order to reap benefits from
reconstruction in its eastern neighbor.

7. (C) Asked about Bashar,s assessment of U.S. engagement
with Syria, the ambassador initially paraphrased the comments
carried in the media, to the effect of remaining hopeful
despite the U.S., not doing enough yet. The tone of the
remarks, said Chavallier, was not negative or aggressive.
Bashar had then gone on to say that &I have other things to
do meantime,8 referring to improving relations with Turkey,
Saudi Arabia and others.

8. (C) Comment: The French relationship with Syria has
warmed considerably over the past eighteen months, with the
opening in October of a Damascus office of the French
development agency the latest embodiment of this
rapprochement. Asad,s trip only reinforced the trend.
Though Chevallier laughingly wondered what French official
might have opined, as Asad advisor Bouthaina Shaaban proudly
reported in an interview with Syrian television, that the
Sarkozy-Asad meeting was &among the most important ever at
the Elysee,8 he clearly viewed the trip as a success for
both Damascus and Paris. Less clear is how Paris views what
many observers here see as Bashar,s stiff-arming of
Sarkozy,s ambitions to insert himself into the role of
mediator between Syria and Israel.
HUNTER