According to Naharnet, the French have delivered a "firm message" to Bashar's regime:
French envoy Jean-Claude Cousseran's visit to Damascus and Iran was aimed at restating France's well-known Mideast policy, and did not involve any shift toward Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government, sources close to the French Foreign Ministry told Naharnet. The sources said the French Foreign Ministry, under instructions from the Elysee Palace, had authorized Cousseran to inform Syria of the need to quit betting on external powers to make a "deal" at Lebanon's expense.
The French sources confirmed that Cousseran conveyed a "harsh warning" to each of Syria's [Vice President] Farouk Sharaa and [Foreign Minister] Walid Muallem concerning the need to deal "positively" with French and Arab efforts aimed at building stability in Lebanon. They stressed that Cousseran was "very honest and clear" with the Syrian leadership, adding that he has relayed France's firm stance which gave Syria what they said was the "last chance" toward changing its behavior in Lebanon.
The French sources told Naharnet that Cousseran had also informed Syrian officials that such visits will not take place in the future unless France sees "tangible" changes in Syria's behavior in Lebanon and the region...The daily An Nahar on Friday also quoted French Foreign Ministry spokesman David Martinon as saying Cousseran's visit to Damascus was of "diplomatic, not political nature." (Naharnet)
You show them, Cousseran, because, you know, tons of UN resolutions and hundreds of envoys from the EU and even Congress failed to be as "firm" as you.
As soon as JCC was out the door, the street sweeper arrived to check on his "spooked-by-a-French diplomatic-visit" friend, accompanied by Super Turban himself, Hassan Nasrallah. The three exchanged "deep" vows. Later, Damascus-based Hamas leader joined the party.
"The enemies of the region should abandon plans to attack the interests of this region, or they will be burned by the wrath of the region's peoples," the hardline Iranian leader said at a joint press conference with Assad.
Later Thursday, Ahmadinejad met Nasrallah in what was believed to be the first encounter of the two since last summer's war between Israel and Hizbullah.
Nasrallah vowed to "suppress any Zionist conspiracy."
Nasrallah also declared that he would thwart any plot aimed at stirring inter-Lebanese strife.
"We will not let this happen," he said. His remarks were carried by Lebanese newspapers on Friday.
At the news conference, Ahmadinejad voiced support for Hizbullah, alluding to the 2006 war.
"We hope that the hot weather of this summer would coincide with similar victories for the region's peoples, and with consequent defeat for the region's enemies," Ahmadinejad said.He described Syrian-Iranian relations as "amicable, excellent and extremely deep," adding that the two countries have common stands on regional issues and face common enemies.(Naharnet)
