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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syria hosts quadruple summit on Israel talks |
| 2008-09-03 |
| The leaders of France, Qatar, Turkey and Syria will meet on Thursday at the request of Damascus to examine ways to move towards peace in the Middle East, an official close to President Nicolas Sarkozy said. "(Sarkozy) will end this visit with a four-way summit," the official told reporters. In addition to Sarkozy and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the meeting will bring together Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, whose country is mediating indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who brokered the political deal in Lebanon. Israeli and Syrian envoys have held talks in Turkey -- without meeting face-to-face -- on four occasions since May, when the talks were re-launched after an eight-year freeze. The last round was at the end of July. Sarkozy is due to travel to Syria on Wednesday on an official visit aimed at reinforcing ties with Damascus after Syria helped reach a deal to end a political crisis in neighboring Lebanon, a former French protectorate. France currently holds the presidency of the European Union, while Syria heads the Council of the Arab League and Qatar is the current chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council. |
| Posted by:Fred |