Gueant: Paris Should Congratulate Itself for Helping Lebanon, Syria Exchange Embassies
French Interior Minister Claude Gueant has said that Paris should congratulate itself for helping Lebanon and Syria establish diplomatic relations.
In an interview published by As Safir daily on Monday, Gueant said: “You know that France is attached to Lebanon for historical reasons. Talks (by France) with Damascus helped the formation of a Lebanese government and the election of a president.”
This led to the historic exchange of embassies between the two countries. “I think we should congratulate ourselves,” said the minister.
In July 2008, Lebanon and Syria agreed to establish diplomatic relations after the formation of the Lebanese cabinet. French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the landmark decision following talks with his Syrian and Lebanese counterparts respectively Bashar Assad and Michel Suleiman.
Suleiman’s election in May of that year had ended a drawn-out political crisis in Lebanon.
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