Both Syria and France supported the Doha Agreement, an Arab-brokered deal that ended escalating violence in Lebanon in May, Mouallem said after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace.
The Syrian FM urged Lebanese parties to implement the agreement and speed up the formation of a national unity government, which would "open diplomatic relations" between Syria and Lebanon.
Mouallem said his talks with France covered the disputed Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shuba hills.
"We talked about the principle of land for peace and the implementation of all international resolutions" that stipulate Israel's withdrawal from occupied territories, he added.
Mouallem also met with Claude Gueant, Secretary General of the Elysee Palace, and discussed the Special Tribunal, a UN commissioned investigation into the assassination of five-time Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri. Hariri was killed by a car bomb in Beirut in 2005, and while Hariri's Future Movement and its allies accuse Syria of the assassination, Damascus has denied any involvement.
The FM underlined the importance of abstaining from turning the tribunal into a political tool, noting that both Syria and Lebanon desired punishment for those who "committed this awful crime."
During a lecture at the French Institute for International Relations on Friday, Mouallem confirmed that his country has no intention to interfere in the formation of a national unity government in Lebanon.
"I am not Lebanese, to be able set a date for the Lebanese government. If you want my opinion as a Syrian neighbor and brother of Lebanon, I hope that the Lebanese can reach consensus on a government today," Mouallem said.
"Our decision is non-intervention. This is a matter for the Lebanese, and it is high time for the Lebanese to decide by themselves without any interference," he added. Mouallem underlined that the stability of Lebanon also meant stability for Syria.
Protest against Assad
In a related development Syrian opposition parties called on Friday for a protest rally to mark President Bashar al-Assad's visit to Paris next week and to demand a halt to human rights abuses in Syria.
In a statement issued Friday, the Syrian opposition parties called for a rally in Paris on July 13 to demand an end to the "arbitrary arrest of intellectuals and political opponents," to torture in Syrian jails, respect for human rights and the lifting of a 45-year-old emergency law.
The text was issued by the French committee of the "Damascus Declaration," a text signed by Syrian opposition figures calling for "democratic change" in the country. Several of its signatories have been arrested in Syria.
Assad along with some other 40 foreign leaders were invited for the launch of a new Union for the Mediterranean, aimed at boosting cooperation between the European Union and the non-European Mediterranean states.
French officials said Sarkozy would raise the issue of human rights during his talks with Assad.
Photo: Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem answers journalists' questions after a lecture at the International French Relations Institute (IFRI) in Paris on July 4, 2008. Mouallem is in France to prepare for the visit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who was invited by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to attend the summit for the Mediterranean union on July 13, 2008
Tags: Assad, France, Government, Lebanon, Sarkozy, source: Now Lebanon, Syria, Ya Libnan
