'Sceptical' of France & Syria's thaw ...

"... But the thaw in ties between France and Syria isn’t to everyone’s tastes, with recent diplomatic leaks illustrating Washington’s wariness.
The rapprochement has brought the Syrian president back onto the world stage after he had been isolated by the international community amid suspicions of Syrian involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
“Sarkozy realized that today, no country, no matter how big and powerful, can conduct diplomacy in the Middle East without dealing with Syria,” Syrian journalist Majed Nehmé told FRANCE 24. According to the French presidency, the shift in the French-Syrian relationship enabled the election of Lebanese President Michel Sleiman in 2008, with the support of Qatar and the establishment of official diplomatic ties between Lebanon and Syria.
But the friendship between France and Syria is viewed with a critical eye from across the Atlantic..."