Assad, Suleiman set to hold talks in Paris (2nd Lead)

Jul 12, 2008, 14:32 GMT

Paris - New Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, were set to hold talks Saturday in Paris to try to ease tensions in the Mideast.

It will be the first meeting between the Lebanese and Syrian heads of state since Lebanon's pro-Western and Syrian-backed factions reached an agreement in May to end the country's worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Suleiman arrived first at the Elysee Palace, where he was meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, before he was to sit down with Assad, Sarkozy and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

A joint statement was scheduled to be issued at the conclusion of the talks.

The Mideast heads of state are part of a contingent of presidents and prime ministers from 43 EU and Mediterranean nations who will be taking part in Sunday's launch of the Union for the Mediterranean, a pet project of Sarkozy's.

Earlier Saturday, the French president held talks over lunch with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who will serve as co-chairman of the Union for the Mediterranean with Sarkozy.

The Union for the Mediterranean was conceived by Sarkozy with the aim of linking more closely the 17 non-EU nations along the Mediterranean Basin with the 27 EU members.

On Sunday, just ahead of the summit's opening, the French head of state was scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas .

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Saturday that talks between Palestinians and Israelis were falling short of expectations.

Discussing the mood ahead of Sunday's summit, Kouchner told journalists, 'Being around the same table with people you have fought is the beginning of something, it is a wind of hope. I'm sorry to say that the talks between Israelis and Palestinians are not part of this wind of hope.'

Kouchner's comment, made after a meeting in Paris with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, suggests that little progress is expected to come out of Sunday's meeting.

Babacar said in Paris that the Union for the Mediterranean would 'promote peace, stability and development in the region.'

Kouchner thanked Turkey for its part in the indirect talks currently being held between Syria and Israel under Ankara's mediation, calling it 'one of the successes of Turkish democracy.'