White_Male_Canada
12-20-2006, 08:58 PM
US senators meet Assad despite White House criticism
DAMASCUS (AFP) - Two influential US senators, including former presidential candidate John Kerry, met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad despite criticism in Washington of such missions.
The US embassy said Kerry and Chris Dodd, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, held talks with Assad covering "the full range of topics relating to US- Syria relations and regional issues".
They also met with Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who called for Washington to press for a land-for-peace settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the state news agency SANA said.
"It is important for the United States to play its role as an honest broker in the peace process, thus contributing to the achievement of security and stability in the region," Muallem was quoted as saying.
Washington, however, has rebuffed an offer of talks Tuesday from Syria's president, sticking to its policy of rejecting dialogue with states it alleges foment unrest in Iraq and across the Middle East.
Assad said during a visit to Moscow that he was "open to dialogue" with Washington about ways to help end spiralling violence in Iraq and wider unrest in the region.
But the United States would "have to differentiate between a dialogue and giving instructions", he stressed.
"They don't need instructions from anybody else. They can start by complying with the requests from their neighbours," came the response from State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
US President George W. Bush has been under pressure since the influential Iraq Study Group recommended earlier this month bringing Syria and Iran into talks on Iraq and on Middle East peace efforts.
Last week, the White House sharply criticized another US senator's trip to Syria as "not helpful" and "not appropriate", warning Damascus not to see the visit as an indirect overture from Washington.
Senator Bill Nelson said he had had a "sharp disagreement" with Assad over UN-endorsed plans for an international tribunal into the February 2005 murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri for which fingers have pointed at Damascus.
He was the first US lawmaker to visit Damascus since January 2005.
Before his own visit, Dodd said US lawmakers "need to go to hotspots ... I can't think of a more critical player in effecting events in the region for good or for bad than Syria."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061220/pl_afp/syriauspolitics_061220144006
DAMASCUS (AFP) - Two influential US senators, including former presidential candidate John Kerry, met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad despite criticism in Washington of such missions.
The US embassy said Kerry and Chris Dodd, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, held talks with Assad covering "the full range of topics relating to US- Syria relations and regional issues".
They also met with Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who called for Washington to press for a land-for-peace settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the state news agency SANA said.
"It is important for the United States to play its role as an honest broker in the peace process, thus contributing to the achievement of security and stability in the region," Muallem was quoted as saying.
Washington, however, has rebuffed an offer of talks Tuesday from Syria's president, sticking to its policy of rejecting dialogue with states it alleges foment unrest in Iraq and across the Middle East.
Assad said during a visit to Moscow that he was "open to dialogue" with Washington about ways to help end spiralling violence in Iraq and wider unrest in the region.
But the United States would "have to differentiate between a dialogue and giving instructions", he stressed.
"They don't need instructions from anybody else. They can start by complying with the requests from their neighbours," came the response from State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
US President George W. Bush has been under pressure since the influential Iraq Study Group recommended earlier this month bringing Syria and Iran into talks on Iraq and on Middle East peace efforts.
Last week, the White House sharply criticized another US senator's trip to Syria as "not helpful" and "not appropriate", warning Damascus not to see the visit as an indirect overture from Washington.
Senator Bill Nelson said he had had a "sharp disagreement" with Assad over UN-endorsed plans for an international tribunal into the February 2005 murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri for which fingers have pointed at Damascus.
He was the first US lawmaker to visit Damascus since January 2005.
Before his own visit, Dodd said US lawmakers "need to go to hotspots ... I can't think of a more critical player in effecting events in the region for good or for bad than Syria."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061220/pl_afp/syriauspolitics_061220144006