Syrian President Bashar Assad and his wife, Mrs. Asma, will be among the guests of French President Nicholas Sarkozy. Will the Syrian president apply these principles in his relationship with Lebanon?

There is considerable doubt about this given the history of the Syrian diplomacy, which has never recognized the state of Lebanon. Figures close to Sarkozy say that serious efforts are undertaken to improve the Franco-Syrian relationship. They say that the positive efforts involve a comprehensive basket of items. Most important is the recognition by Syria of Lebanon and its sovereign decision-making. There is also the exchange of embassies and working for stabilizing the security situation.

However, if Sarkozy were to look at the French diplomacy of his predecessor, he would discover that Jacques Chirac did not severe ties with Damascus on a whim. He was the first one to open the doors of the Elysée Palace to him, during the presidency of his father, the late Hafez Assad. After the son succeeded the father, Chirac invited him to France for a state visit, and his wife accompanied him. They received a huge welcome by Chirac and his wife Bernadette, who hosted Asma Assad at the palace, where Nazik Hariri, the wife of the martyr Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, was on hand. Chirac tried to cement the relationship with Assad the father, and then the son, based on the idea that they would let Lebanon breathe and flourish. Chirac's friend, Prime Minister al-Hariri, would then be allowed to implement an ambitious political and economic program to help Lebanon recover, while Syria would flourish. However, Prime Minister Hariri paid with his life for this miscalculation. What happened happened, and Chirac realized that working with Damascus was not possible.

Damascus does not recognize a flourishing and sovereign Lebanon. Damascus wants to liberate the Golan Heights and lead the peace track with Israel in the name of Syria and Lebanon. It calls for liberating the Shebaa Farms and says that it is Lebanese land, but Syria has never once formally acknowledged that this is the case. The late Hafez Assad used to tell French foreign ministers, from Roland Dumas to Alain Juppe, that the ties between the Lebanese and Syrian peoples were indivisible, as sturdy as the link between Qasiyun Mountain and Syria.

Today, and after the assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri and Basil Fleihan, and his comrades and dear loved ones Gebran Tueni, Samir Kassir, Pierre Amine Gemayel, Walid Eido and his son, Francois Hajj, George Hawi and the martyrs who fell with them, we should ask about what Sarkozy has received from Assad that merits this huge celebration and reception. Sarkozy says that the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, congratulated him on receiving Assad in France. Perhaps the prime minister of Qatar and his friend, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem, encouraged him and congratulated him on the invitation, as Hariri did with Chirac. The Emir of Qatar is among the honored guests at the Bastille Day celebrations. He deserves to be, because he brokered the Doha Agreement, which facilitated the election of President Michel Suleiman.

In exchange for what has President Assad been invited? Will Assad present to Sarkozy the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who holds French citizenship, in order to boost the weak domestic popularity of the French president? Will he give him a role in the Israeli-Syrian peace negotiation track? This is what Sarkozy aspires to. He loves "noisy" diplomacy and is determined, as he says, to obtain from Syria the respect of Lebanon's free decision-making and sovereignty and the exchange of embassies between the two countries.

Sarkozy is trying to use diplomacy to separate Syria from Iran, as he says, over the long term. No doubt, this wager is ambitious and naïve, since it is not built on a study of the history of Syrian-Iranian relations. But Sarkozy is betting that he can be more cognizant than his predecessors, and that he will obtain much from Syria. He may receive promises about Lebanon, promises that would turn into empty words, just as in the past. If Sarkozy obtains the release of Shalit, he might reassure Assad that the international court would not be politicized and might linger, even though this is irrevocable. Things can be done to make the trial process last longer or even be dissolved, like with the Lockerbie case. This is despite the fact that Paris is affirming that it will not go back on the International Court, which France is paying for.

Sarkozy lacks the experience of his predecessors, Mitterand and Chirac, with the Syrian regime. He also lacks the experience of the wise Saudi leadership in making commitments and promises, which are not carried out. Despite everything that has been said to him, he is determined to make progress with Syria. Israel is advising him to and the American ally has not prevented him from it either. France's rush toward Syria shows that the values of Paris, the president of the EU, and its ally the US administration, namely freedom, equality, fraternity and democracy, are only implemented on its own peoples, so where does this leave the southern bank of the Mediterranean?

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