What Russia thinks

Maria Appakova writes in Novosti:

Paris has declared that after Suleiman's inauguration, it may step up contacts with Damascus, which it froze last December because of disagreements over Lebanon. Restoration of French-Syrian contacts may considerably improve the regional situation. France has always carried weight in the Arab world.

As for the Arab countries, they are now content with each other — after all, they have proved their ability to resolve their problems without outside, Western, aid.

They have improved their attitude to Iran and Syria, which has lately been something of a pariah in the Arab world. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Musa, and Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Jabir Al-Thani, the main mediator in the Lebanese talks, complimented Damascus and Tehran, and thanked them for their role in achieving the domestic Lebanese settlement.