Syrian President Pays a Rare Visit

Syrian President Hafez Assad made a rare visit to France to seek European help to relaunch a Middle East peace process that he said has been paralyzed by Israel. In his first official visit to the West in 22 years, Assad wasted little time before lashing out at what he called “Israeli intransigence” in dealing with its Arab neighbors. President Jacques Chirac met for nearly three hours with Assad and held a state dinner for him later. The two leaders were to meet again today. During a dinner toast, Chirac said France is determined to not let the Middle East peace process collapse.