Kouchner: Administrative Barriers in Damascus Delay Ties with Beirut

Lebanon news, Lebanese radio station , world news, music, discover Lebanon, visit Beirut, Radio sawt Beirut French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said "administrative barriers" in Syria delay the setting up of diplomatic ties between Damascus and Beirut, hoping the move could be accomplished before yearend. Kouchner, talking to reporters in Paris, attributed the report on the administrative barriers to an unidentified "Syrian source," the daily An-Nahar reported. Kouchner defended France's rather calculated rapprochement with Syria, saying it was "inevitable and necessary. It achieved progress." He said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal relayed to President Nicolas Sarkozy last weekend Riyadh's "reservations" on the Paris-Damascus rapprochement. "Certainly, we've informed Saudi Arabia of our discussions with... [read full story]