The first official visit to Paris by the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, was marred by a diplomatic contretemps when Israel rebuked French attempts to re launch the Jewish state's suspended peace talks with Syria and Lebanon.
Before Mr Barak's arrival, President Chirac had raised expectations by implying that he had a message to convey from the Syrian Foreign Minister, Mr Farouk al-Shara'a, whom he received on September 18th. France held a colonial mandate over Syria and Lebanon from 1920 until 1943 and is still influential there. The Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, will call on Mr Chirac in Paris tomorrow.
Shortly before Mr Barak arrived at the Elysee Palace late on Wednesday, his security adviser, Mr Danny Yatom, said that if outside involvement was required to re start the negotiations which stopped in March 1996, Israel wanted Washington, not Paris, to intervene.
But as he stood with Mr Chirac in front of French and Israeli flags, Mr Barak tried to be more diplomatic, saying that France's goodwill was helpful. Four months after his election, Mr Barak has made no concrete gestures, and Damascus has grown sceptical about the Israeli leader's stated intention to make peace with Syria by the end of 2000.
The French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, invited two French Jewish cabinet members, the Finance Minister, Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and the junior minister for European affairs, Mr Pierre Moscovici, to his breakfast meeting with Mr Barak.
Alluding to the delicate question of French involvement in negotiations, Mr Jospin said: "It is firstly up to the parties who want peace to determine the conditions". French leaders were "available to help . . . if they are asked," he added.
Mr Barak reiterated his promise to withdraw Israeli troops from southern Lebanon by July of next year. But Arabs are beginning to wonder whether there is any substance to Mr Barak's dovish rhetoric. The Israeli Prime Minister told the Jerusalem Post yesterday that, although he cannot admit it, Mr Arafat knows he will never regain all of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
