A new course in the Middle East

The Frankfurter Rundschau applauds President Sarkozy's mediation efforts in the Middle East. "Shaking hands with rogues? ... New dynamism has been brought to the well-worn system for identifying good and evil in the Middle East. Under the leadership of the agile French president [Nicolas Sarkozy], the EU is attempting to sound out new courses of action. Because Europeans have always gone along with the US idea of an 'axis of evil' rather against their will. And states like Turkey and Qatar, which enjoy the trust of both the Arab world and the Israeli-American side, have proved themselves as new mediators in peace efforts with Israel. Sarkozy, too, has positioned himself well. He has put an end to his predecessor Chirac's policy of isolating Sryria, and at the same time he has built up more trust in France's relations with Israel. ... If he could resolve the conflict with Syria, it could even result in a solution of the nuclear contention with Iran."

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