Officials in Damascus had informed French envoy Jean-Claude Cousseran, during his last visit, of Syria's stance demanding France's "clear recognition of Syria's influence and interests in Lebanon." The Syrian officials, according to a Paris datelined report published by the daily As Safir on Saturday, stressed on what they described as the "natural and distinguished relations linking Lebanon with Syria."
They said Damascus did not respond to Cousseran's quest to get clear answers on the need to hold timely presidential elections to prevent Lebanon from sinking into constitutional and institutional chaos. They said Cousseran did not make "direct" French requests from Damascus since the Syrian-French talks were still at the beginning. |