French minister discusses peace process with Syria's Assad

Syrian President Hafiz al-Assad has met visiting French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine for talks on the stalled Middle East peace process, Syrian radio reported.

Vedrine gave Assad a message from French President Jacques Chirac at the meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

Assad was also briefed by Vedrine and Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shar on the outcome of talks held between Syrian and French delegations on efforts to revive the process.

Assad "reiterated Syria's position towards the peace process and its readiness to resume talks from where they broke off," the radio said.

"He welcomed an active French and European role in the region - a role that will help attain the goal of a comprehensive and just peace."

Vedrine expressed France's concern about the situation in the Middle East and "stressed the need to activate the peace process on the basis of international resolutions."

The radio added that the talks also covered bilateral relations and the need to develop them in various fields.

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.