Gaza deal 'not far away'
2009-01-06 20:16
Tiri - French President Nicolas
Sarkozy said on Tuesday a deal to end the Israeli offensive in
Gaza was "not far" away and asked Syria to help convince Hamas
to co-operate in ending the conflict.
"I'm convinced that there are solutions. We are not far from
that.
"What is needed is simply for one of the players to start
for things to go in the right direction," Sarkozy told reporters
during a visit to French UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon.
Shuttling around the Middle East for a second day, Sarkozy
headed to Sharm el-Sheikh to meet Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak to work out the details of a peace plan.
"I do not know if it will work. I am telling you that I am
trying and if I am going back there (Sharm el-Sheikh) it is
because there is a small hope," he said.
During a visit to Damascus, Sarkozy urged Syria to put
pressure on its ally Hamas to support a compromise to halt
violence that has killed at least 629 Palestinians and nine
Israelis since December 27.
'Important contribution'
"I am convinced that Syria can provide an important
contribution in seeking a solution," Sarkozy said after talks
with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria's ties with France
and other European states have improved since Damascus helped
defuse a political crisis in Lebanon last year.
"President Assad can play a role. He must convince Hamas to
make the choice of reason, of peace and reconciliation," Sarkozy
said.
Assad said any initiative must stop what he described as
Israel's war crimes in Hamas-run Gaza and lift the blockade of
the besieged territory.
Diplomats in the Syrian capital said France wanted Syria to
exert its influence with Hamas to make sure any ceasefire
sticks, but Syria has been careful not to be seen as acting as a
guardian of Israel's security.
Guarantees
Israel launched its offensive with the stated aim of halting
rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Sarkozy said any ceasefire must
include "serious guarantees" for the security of Israel and halt
the attacks.
The French president earned wide praise during his country's
tenure of the rotating six-month EU presidency last year for
brokering a ceasefire between Russia and Georgia.
Humanitarian conditions
In Jerusalem, Sarkozy emphasised the need to improve the
humanitarian conditions in Gaza, after meeting Israeli officials
and calling for a ceasefire.
"I hope that today (Tuesday) European non-governmental organisations
will enter Gaza, that there will be humanitarian corridors and
medicine [deliveries]," he said.
More than 2 700 Palestinians have been wounded since Israel
began its campaign to put an end to Hamas rocket attacks on its
southern towns.