WRAP President Sarkozy meets President Assad, sots

(13 Nov 2009) SHOTLIST
1. Pan of Syrian President Bashar Assad walking through courtyard, shaking hands with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, walking up steps and posing for photographers before entering palace
2. French flag flying from roof of Elysee Palace
3. Mid of French flag
4. Assad and Sarkozy coming out of Elysee Palace, shaking hands, Assad walking towards microphone
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar Assad, Syrian President:
"Today this (peace) process cannot resume with only one party. Today Syria wants peace. There is a Turkish mediator who is ready to take up again his role of mediation. There is also French, European and international support for this process. What is missing is an Israeli partner ready to move forward and ready to reach a result."
6. Cutaway of French flag ++REPEATS SHOT 3++
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar Assad, Syrian President ++INCLUDES FRENCH TRANSLATIONS++:
"It depends on what we are talking about. What would we talk about, the menu or the return of land? Me, I say we would talk about returning land, and for this subject there is a framework. There are also mechanisms that exist for that. So it is the negotiators who are specialised in these negotiations, who know this mechanism. It is neither me nor Mr Netanyahu."
8. Close up of Assad's hands
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar Assad, Syrian President:
"Syria has no conditions. Syria has rights and Syria will never give up on these rights. The peace process has its own demands and without the satisfaction of these demands, the peace process will fail."
10. Assad leaving, getting into car
STORYLINE:
Syrian President Bashar Assad on Friday questioned Israel's will to restart peace talks and suggested that a summit meeting between the two sides would be useless.
He welcomed renewed indirect discussions mediated by Turkey, but appeared to dismiss suggestions of a direct meeting with Israel's prime minister.
"What would we talk about, the menu or the return of land?" Assad told reporters after talks and lunch with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"Me, I say we would talk about returning land, and for this subject there is a framework," mechanisms and specialised negotiators to handle this, he said.
"It is neither me nor Mr. (Benjamin) Netanyahu," he said.
Assad's visit to Paris came two days after that of the Israeli prime minister, who said he was ready to meet the Syrian president anywhere, at any moment, but without pre-established conditions, to relaunch talks over the Israeli-Syrian dimension of the broader Mideast peace process.
"Today Syria wants peace. There is a Turkish mediator who is ready to take up again his role of mediation,"
Assad said.
Turkey has mediated talks between Israel and Syria, but they broke off in March with the new, more hardline Israeli government.
Assad reiterated his complaint that Israel is not fully committed to talks mediated by Turkey.
He said the mediator and Syria are ready but "what is missing is an Israeli partner ready to move forward and ready to reach a result."
Besides Mideast peace, Sarkozy and Assad discussed Iran's contested nuclear programme.
Damascus is a friend of Tehran.
Strengthening bilateral ties between Syria and France also was discussed on Assad's latest visit.
Assad welcomed French help in the eventual Israeli-Syrian discussions, but only as a supporting player to Turkey, by encouraging Israel to return to talks with Syria.

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