Sarkozy is right on Syria

Syria should rejoin the mainstream of the region's policymakers after years of being isolated - thanks in part to its tactical alliance with Iran, and in part due to suspicion of being behind the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

The United States has blacklisted Syria as a state sponsor of terror, but the regional dynamics changed profoundly this summer, when Lebanon and Syria decided to patch up their disputes and agreed to normalise ties for the first time since the French mandate ended more than 60 years ago.

As part of Syria's possible return to the mainstream, Nicolas Sarkozy, French President and current president of the European Union, has announced an important visit to Damsacus following Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's successful visit last month to Paris. Sarkozy told his foreign ministry that isolation should stop in favour of engagement, which "will be more risky but more promising; with open dialogue leading to tangible progress".

In world affairs it is always better to recognise profound differences, but to keep talking to the other side. Resorting to isolation is an admission of failure of diplomacy without the resolution to go to war.