Paris, July 14 - Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Monday hailed the launch of the Union for the Mediterranean here as ''an important event'' but stressed the need for action to back up union members' good intentions. Frattini told Italian state Radio 1 that he particularly welcomed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's address, in which Assad said United States participation in the Middle East peace process was welcome. ''Assad's intention to enter into discussions with the US and Europe means distancing Damascus from Iran, which is our objective,'' he said. ''Now we expect action from Syria''. Underlining that Italy has ''always had a fine relationship'' with Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt, Frattini said Italy's role was to ''put to good use its capacity for understanding and assessment'' which he added was equal ''to very...
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