Joining the dots

Joining the dots

It's all about joining the dots.

The visit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Paris is the latest step in a process which could bring peace talks with Israel.

The two sides talked last year with the Turks as mediators. The Gaza War brought those discussions to an abrupt halt.

Now in the last 10 days, there's been some significant movement, which in some quarters is inspiring hope of renewed talks.

First, the Turkish foreign minister popped over to Paris. It's understood he was briefing the French on how far things had developed last year.

Then, the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu arrived for lunch on Wednesday and stayed for nearly two hours.

Those close to him say he's willing to talk to the Syrians again "without preconditions".

And now President Assad will make the short journey from his five star hotel to the Elysee Palace for his lunch with Nicolas Sarkozy.

His side too is talking about talks with no preconditions but insists they have "certain rights" which must be recognised. That would be the return of the Golan Heights, seized by the Israelis in 1967 and annexed unilaterally in 1981.

If the Israelis won't move on that, there might be no more dots to complete the picture.