Sarkozy joins Middle East talks

The summit will focus on indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is meeting the leaders of Syria, Turkey and Qatar in a bid to boost efforts towards Middle East peace.

Mr Sarkozy is on a two-day trip to Damascus, also aimed at cementing revived ties between France and Syria.

France, which currently holds the EU presidency, hopes to help mediation efforts in Middle East.

Syria's president said the "Summit for Stability" would lay the basis for possible direct talks with Israel.

"The summit seeks to draft a declaration of principles that would form a basis for direct peace talks between Syria and Israel," Bashar al-Assad said.

At the session was Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country has mediated four rounds of indirect Israeli-Syrian talks since May.

The fourth corner of the table was taken by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and his prime minister, Hamad bin Jasim al-Thani, who helped broker an internal peace deal in Lebanon, also in May.

Direct Israel-Syria negotiations - centring on the fate of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - last took place in 2000 under US auspices.

Mr Assad said Syria had been waiting for "a fifth crucial round of talks... to determine the evolution of these negotiations", but the process had been put on hold because of political changes in Israel.

Scandal-hit Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has announced his resignation and his Kadima party is holding elections on 17 September for a new leader, who could become prime minister.

Rehabilitating Syria

The BBC's Bethany Bell in Damascus says the summit brings together several key regional players, but progress is likely to be tentative at best.

President Sarkozy is the first Western leader to visit the Syrian capital since Syria's critics blamed it for the murder of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri in February 2005.

The Hariri bombing - which Syria firmly denied involvement in - caused relations between Paris and Damascus to plummet.

But Mr Sarkozy hosted Mr Assad in July and correspondents say he appears determined to bring Syria, a long-time foe of the US and Israel, back into the international fold.

Former colonial power France's mediation has already brought an easing of tensions between Syria and Lebanon.

However, our correspondent says comprehensive peace in the region depends on many other factors, including the arrival of a more stable leadership in Israel and a new US president.

Syria acknowledges the importance of the US in supporting Middle East peace initiatives, but says direct talks with Israel can only take place after John McCain or Barack Obama is installed in the White House next year.

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