U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed confidence Saturday that France would send the right message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad when he visits Paris next month.

Rice spoke soon after her arrival to Israel from the French capital, where she took part in a donors' conference for Afghanistan and accompanied U.S. President George Bush on his visit there.

Earlier in the week she had expressed some reservations about the recent rapprochement between France and Syria.

Freshly arrived in Jerusalem on Saturday however, she was more positive about the forthcoming meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Assad.

"I don't have any doubt that any contact with Bashar al-Assad will be from our point of view contacts that communicate the right messages on what are shared French and American goals ... in the Middle East," she told reporters.

Assad is to attend the July 14 Independence Day celebrations in Paris at the invitation of Sarkozy.

"I also know that we and the French have completely consonant views on the situation in Lebanon as evidenced by the joint statement that presidents Sarkozy and Bush issued today," she added.

Earlier Saturday, Bush and Sarkozy issued a joint statement in which they urged Syria to break ties with Iran, end its support for anti-Israeli militants, and renew formal ties with Lebanon.(AFP)