By KUNA,
Damascus : Syria underscored on Saturday the importance of the upcoming summit between President Bashar Al-Assad and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy in strengthening ties between the two countries.
The government’s “Tishreen” newspaper said the visit, so far set for September 3, would constitute a boost for bilateral ties, which took a new turn in mid-July after talks were held between the two leaders in Paris.
It noted that the summit would come after the just concluded “historic” Syrian-Russia summit, adding that the two meetings reflected the importance of Syria as a regional player.
It said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner would be meeting with his Syrian counterpart here on Monday to prepare for the meeting. The meeting had been set for today, but was postponed due to developments in Afghanistan and Georgia. Kouchner would be coming in from Lebanon.