No big deal at Paris summit

By JTA

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PARIS (JTA)—The French-initiated summit for the Union for the Mediterranean that ended this month did not produce any major breakthroughs.

However, French President Nicolas Sarkozy recognized one achievement: Every Arab country but Libya sat down with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Conference participants approved six projects and signed an accord that, among other things, talks of developing peace and fighting terrorism. All 43 nations also signed on to support the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Peace between Israel and Syria and the Palestinian Authority was a major focus of the event.

Sarkozy hosted a meeting July 13 of Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and a day earlier Syrian President Bashar Assad met with Sarkozy and the new president of Lebanon, Michel Suleiman, to discuss peace in the region.

Olmert spoke about his morning discussion with Abbas.

“It seems to me that we have never been closer to the possibility of a peace accord than we are today,” Olmert told reporters.

Abbas said at a news conference that “it is in all of our interests to reach” peace. “We should achieve peace for the people of the Middle East in general, but also for peace in the world.”

At the conference, Assad sat opposite Olmert at a large, circular table set in alphabetical order so the disputing countries were not placed side by side. The leaders did not meet one on one, nor did they shake hands.

Assad also reportedly tried to avoid being photographed with Olmert.

Following a July 12 meeting with Sarkozy, Assad told reporters that he wanted France to co-mediate any direct talks between Israel and Syria with the United States when a new American president takes office next year.

Sarkozy told journalists that during his meeting with Assad, he discussed the Syrian leader’s potential contribution to the freeing of Israeli kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, who is also a French citizen, held captive by Hamas since 2006.

In a Bastille Day speech, Sarkozy said he would take steps to free Shalit.