.US Sen. Kerry hopeful after Syria talks
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - U.S. Sen. John Kerry said after talks with Syria's president Saturday that there are possibilities for "real cooperation" between the two nations, which have been at odds for years.
Relations soured under the Bush administration, and Kerry and other members of Congress who have come to the Syrian capital in the last week explored the possibilities for better relations after President Barack Obama signaled he wanted to talk to opponents.
Kerry told a small group of reporters he was encouraged by the "very long, candid, open" discussion with President Bashar Assad Saturday and that he sees the possibility of progress ahead.
"While we will disagree on some issues for sure, what I heard and what I will take back with me and hopefully what we could put in place to take advantage of it, is the possibility of real cooperation on a number of different issues beginning immediately, beginning soon."
U.S.-Syrian relations have long been tense. Syria's support for the militant organizations Hamas and Hezbollah has drawn the ire of Washington, which has also accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross into Iraq. Syria, which staunchly opposed the 2003 invasion, insists it is doing all it can to safeguard its long, porous border.
Relations soured further when the Bush administration pulled the U.S. ambassador out of Syria in 2005 to protest Syria's suspected role in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Damascus denied involvement in his death, but in the uproar that followed, it was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, ending a 29-year military presence.
The Massachusetts Democrat said he hoped that in the coming days "things will begin to emerge that can begin to signal that kind of different possibilities."
He did not elaborate, but the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did say he heard from the Syrians "a great willingness" to share in efforts with respect to Iraq.
During a stop in Beirut on Wednesday, Kerry said the U.S. expected Syria to "change its behavior" - particularly on Iraq and Lebanon - in return for renewing diplomacy with Damascus.
Kerry said there is an opportunity with Obama in the White House and a Democratic-controlled Congress "to put in place a different approach."
Assad told Kerry and U.S. Rep. Howard Berman, whom he met with separately earlier in the day, that "the policy of dictation has proven useless and that dialogue is the only way" to solve problems, according to Syria's official news agency, SANA.
Assad has sent signals he wants to work with Washington. In a newspaper interview published Wednesday, Assad said he was impressed by Obama's friendly gestures and welcomed the U.S. delegations to Syria. But he also said he is still waiting to see results.
The congressional delegations, led by Democrats, are carrying the message that America wants to engage countries it has been at odds with if they are willing, as Obama puts it, to unclench their fists.
But questions remain over just how much common ground exists between Syria and the U.S., and there are concerns that the new openness from the U.S. may turn out to be only cosmetic.
Syria's ambassador to Washington described the congressional visits to Damascus as being "of extreme importance and depth." But he stressed he was still waiting to see if the visits change "the manner of dialogue between us and America."
"Let us see what are the goals we all want to reach, where we agree, where we disagree," Imad Mustapha told The Associated Press in Damascus.
Berman, the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman from California, said he was not representing the Obama administration on his visit but said, "I share the administration's general belief in engagement, and I came in that spirit."
Besides Kerry and Berman, Sen. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland also visited Syria and met with Assad.
The U.S. State Department announced Friday it has scheduled a meeting in the coming week with Syria's ambassador to Washington to discuss differences between the two countries - the first such meeting in months.
Mustapha is to meet with Jeffrey D. Feltman, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, according to State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid.
"Our concerns include Syria's support to terrorist groups and networks, Syria's pursuit of nuclear and unconventional weaponry, interference in Lebanon and a worsening human rights situation," he said Friday.
MyWay
I guess we are going to subsidize terrorism, and put the dictators on the endangered list
Relations soured under the Bush administration, and Kerry and other members of Congress who have come to the Syrian capital in the last week explored the possibilities for better relations after President Barack Obama signaled he wanted to talk to opponents.
Kerry told a small group of reporters he was encouraged by the "very long, candid, open" discussion with President Bashar Assad Saturday and that he sees the possibility of progress ahead.
"While we will disagree on some issues for sure, what I heard and what I will take back with me and hopefully what we could put in place to take advantage of it, is the possibility of real cooperation on a number of different issues beginning immediately, beginning soon."
U.S.-Syrian relations have long been tense. Syria's support for the militant organizations Hamas and Hezbollah has drawn the ire of Washington, which has also accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross into Iraq. Syria, which staunchly opposed the 2003 invasion, insists it is doing all it can to safeguard its long, porous border.
Relations soured further when the Bush administration pulled the U.S. ambassador out of Syria in 2005 to protest Syria's suspected role in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Damascus denied involvement in his death, but in the uproar that followed, it was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, ending a 29-year military presence.
The Massachusetts Democrat said he hoped that in the coming days "things will begin to emerge that can begin to signal that kind of different possibilities."
He did not elaborate, but the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did say he heard from the Syrians "a great willingness" to share in efforts with respect to Iraq.
During a stop in Beirut on Wednesday, Kerry said the U.S. expected Syria to "change its behavior" - particularly on Iraq and Lebanon - in return for renewing diplomacy with Damascus.
Kerry said there is an opportunity with Obama in the White House and a Democratic-controlled Congress "to put in place a different approach."
Assad told Kerry and U.S. Rep. Howard Berman, whom he met with separately earlier in the day, that "the policy of dictation has proven useless and that dialogue is the only way" to solve problems, according to Syria's official news agency, SANA.
Assad has sent signals he wants to work with Washington. In a newspaper interview published Wednesday, Assad said he was impressed by Obama's friendly gestures and welcomed the U.S. delegations to Syria. But he also said he is still waiting to see results.
The congressional delegations, led by Democrats, are carrying the message that America wants to engage countries it has been at odds with if they are willing, as Obama puts it, to unclench their fists.
But questions remain over just how much common ground exists between Syria and the U.S., and there are concerns that the new openness from the U.S. may turn out to be only cosmetic.
Syria's ambassador to Washington described the congressional visits to Damascus as being "of extreme importance and depth." But he stressed he was still waiting to see if the visits change "the manner of dialogue between us and America."
"Let us see what are the goals we all want to reach, where we agree, where we disagree," Imad Mustapha told The Associated Press in Damascus.
Berman, the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman from California, said he was not representing the Obama administration on his visit but said, "I share the administration's general belief in engagement, and I came in that spirit."
Besides Kerry and Berman, Sen. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland also visited Syria and met with Assad.
The U.S. State Department announced Friday it has scheduled a meeting in the coming week with Syria's ambassador to Washington to discuss differences between the two countries - the first such meeting in months.
Mustapha is to meet with Jeffrey D. Feltman, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, according to State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid.
"Our concerns include Syria's support to terrorist groups and networks, Syria's pursuit of nuclear and unconventional weaponry, interference in Lebanon and a worsening human rights situation," he said Friday.
MyWay
I guess we are going to subsidize terrorism, and put the dictators on the endangered list
posted by madtom at 5:55 PM
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