In September a new French envoy will attempt to push forward peace between Syria and Israel while some observers believe his job is to mediate between Syria and the US, reports Bassel Oudat in Damascus French Ambassador Jean-Claude Cousseran will arrive in the Syrian capital Damascus as special envoy of the French president at the beginning of September to monitor the peace process between Syria and Israel and probe ways of re-launching talks on the Syrian-Israeli track. Cousseran will begin his mission by embarking on a shuttle tour to Ankara and Tel Aviv, before arriving in Damascus. Since France "is confident that peace between Syria and Israel is very possible," in the words of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Paris hopes that Cousseran will be able to convince the Syrians and Israelis to return to indirect talks sponsored by Turkey that will pave the way to direct negotiations. Damascus welcomed the prospect of the French special envoy with the media singing his praises, describing him as a friend of Syria. For its part, Paris denied that Cousseran would mediate between Damascus and Tel Aviv or be a messenger between the two capitals. France stated that the French envoy would explore the reasons behind the standstill in talks, and the obstacles preventing the re-launch of indirect dialogue. Accordingly, he would draft a plan and suggestions that could help restart negotiations that have been stalled for some 18 months. According to French sources, while in Damascus Cousseran will focus on obtaining guarantees from the Syrians that they will not reject indirect talks, convincing them of the need to achieve a breakthrough on the Syrian-Israeli peace track and move to direct negotiations as soon as possible. Paris was careful not to announce Cousseran's mission before briefing the relevant parties, and asked its ambassador to Damascus, Eric Chevalier, to inform the Syrians of the envoy's assignment. It also briefed Israel and the US, as well as Turkey which is playing a key mediating role in indirect talks at the behest of Damascus that refuses the interference of any other European state. The source described Cousseran as the best man for the job since he served as consular-general to Jerusalem in 1986, ambassador to Damascus in 1993, ambassador to Ankara in 1999 and ambassador to Cairo in 2002. He had also held the post of director of the Middle East Department at the French Foreign Ministry for several years, and head of France's Foreign Intelligence Service, as well as being instrumental in reaching the understandings that revived relations between Paris and Damascus. A senior French diplomatic source stated that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will personally oversee the French envoy's work, and that Cousseran's assignment in the region will last almost one year. The source told Al-Ahram Weekly that "it's difficult to predict" whether the envoy's efforts are likely to succeed or fail in bringing back Israel and Syria to the negotiating table through Turkish mediation. "It's a complicated situation and the parties are many. It will probably become more clear in the first six months of his mission." Three years ago, Turkish efforts succeeded in launching indirect dialogue between Syria and Israel. But despite several rounds of these talks, Operation Cast Lead -- the war launched by Israel against Gaza at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 -- brought negotiations to a halt. Meanwhile, tensions between Turkey and Israel also rose as Ankara supported the Palestinians and developed ties with the Palestinian group Hamas. Subsequently, Turkey cancelled joint war games with Israel and was angered recently by attack on the Free Gaza Flotilla that killed nine Turkish activists. Washington was unable to bridge the gap. France had previously offered its services as a mediator between Syria and Israel, but Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad insisted on Turkish mediation. Assad called on Paris to support the Turkish role and convince Israel to commit to Ankara's mediation, and asked that the US alone should map out the peace plan for Syria and Israel. Paris, aspiring to an influential role in the region, believes the time has come for France to play a role on the Syrian-Israeli track. Over the past two years, France has dabbled in several regional issues, such as finding a solution for the Lebanese predicament, reviving Palestinian-Israeli talks and launching the Union for the Mediterranean, among others. Nonetheless, observers believe Paris is currently seeking to coordinate with Ankara to partner in its efforts to revive indirect talks between Syria and Israel, not necessarily to share mediation efforts at this point but to be party to direct negotiations if later launched under US auspices. European diplomats say that Paris is not working behind the back of Washington. Reportedly the US asked France to play this role after Paris succeeded in softening the Syrian position, making it more moderate on several issues in the region, such as Lebanon and Iraq. Syria understands that France is playing the role of facilitator, and welcomes it in the hope that Paris will eventually be able to convince Washington to be more positive about Damascus. Also that it would be able to persuade the US to prioritise sponsoring direct talks between Syria and Israel. Meanwhile, the Syrians criticise Netanyahu's extremist government, its refusal to give the Golan Heights back, its insistence on expanding settlements, annexing Jerusalem and rejecting the right of return. This makes France's job all the more harder.
