World Watch
March 19, 2010 1:36 PM

U.S., Syria Hold Talks on Mideast Peace

By
George Baghdadi
Topics
Syria

In this Jan. 6, 2009 file photo, Syrian President Bashar Assad delivers his speech at the Presidential palace in Damascus, Syria.

(Credit: AP Photo/Eric Feferberg)
A top adviser to U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell wrapped up an undisclosed round of talks with Syrian officials aimed at giving momentum to the stumbling peace process, a U.S. source revealed on Friday.

An embassy official in the Damascus said Frederic C. Hof, a conflict resolution expert, met Thursday with Syrian Foreign Minister Waleed Mouallem as part of the U.S. strategy to bring peace to the region.

"Mr. Hof highlighted the United States' pursuit to work for achieving comprehensive peace in the region and resuming peace negotiations on all tracks," one source told CBS News in a telephone conversation. The source refused to get into specifics.

There was no word from the Syrian government on the visit, seen by many diplomats as yet another distinct sign the Obama administration was determined to bring Israel and its Arab neighbors back to the negotiating table.

Syria remains a vital player in the Middle East. Damascus wields significant influence over events in Lebanon; it is a close ally of Iran (whose disputed nuclear program is a matter of international concern); it shares a crucial border with Iraq; and it has a direct relationship with Palestinian extremist groups.

Hof was last in Damascus in July. His new visit comes only a few days after a confirmation hearing in the Senate to discuss why the U.S. needs to send an ambassador to Damascus for the first time in five years.

Robert Ford, Obama's nominee for the post said on Tuesday that the U.S. needs to deliver "straight talk" to the Syrian leadership on stabilizing Iraq and cutting links to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"Bad news just doesn't flow upwards over there," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Mitchell, the former Senate Democratic leader who is the spearheading U.S. peacemaking efforts in the Mideast, was set to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories last weekend, in bids to kick-start peace talks with the Palestinians.

But he cancelled his plans due to the recent spat between Israel and Washington over continued Israeli construction in east Jerusalem, announced as Washington was pushing a plan to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians -- an ambitious plan which foresaw a final deal within two years and agreement on permanent borders in just nine months.

Under the U.S. plan, the Israelis and Palestinians would immediately resume final status talks that were suspended during the Gaza war a year ago.

Syria accused Israel of being an "untrue partner" in the peacemaking process. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad told a joint press conference with his Italian counterpart Giorgio Napolitano in Damascus on Thursday that Israel was not seeking peace.

Turkey brokered four rounds of indirect talks between Syria and Israel in 2008 -- the first such contacts since previous peace negotiations were broken off in 2000 over the fate of the Israeli-occupied land in the Golan Heights, along Syria's border.

Syria froze communications at the beginning of last year when Israel launched a devastating three-week offensive against the Gaza Strip, controlled since June 2007 by the Islamic militant movement Hamas. Hamas' exiled leader, Khaled Mashaal, lives in Damascus.

Syria has insisted that the promise of an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights be a precursor to any renewed peace negotiations between the two countries. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vehemently rejected the notion of a withdrawal.

Ties between Washington and Damascus became strained after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the assassination of Lebanese leader Rafiq Hariri in 2005, which was widely blamed on Syria. Damascus denies any involvement.

Since being sworn, Mr. Obama has cautiously sought to improve ties with Syria. Congressional visitors have made a flurry of trips to the country. U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs William J. Burns was in Damascus end of last month and met with President Al-Assad.

Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and Daniel Shapiro, a senior staffer on the National Security Council, were also believed to fly in the Syrian capital in April.


Add a Comment
by bankersvox March 21, 2010 1:02 PM EDT
why are we talking and thus giving respect to these people, who have killed the President of Lebanon ? and support all manner of Terrorism ?

Why do we castigate our only friend, Israel, and then talk to one of our worse enemies, and one of the most evil regimes on earth. Just ask Leb.

Are we nuts ?

No our State Dept. has had an institutional history of having this attitude, and snarky about it, dating back to the FDR era.
Reply to this comment
by MADDAT52 March 20, 2010 1:00 PM EDT
The armies for liberty are gathering strength all over the nation, some political some militant. The advance of communism is going to be met with a wall of resistance that will form after the Sunday vote. This will be the straw that breaks the camels back. We will not be ruled over by an oppressive central power and they should expect to meat with a strong resistance wherever they attempt to force their will upon us. The government has gone out of control with a lust for power; we must and will stop the enemies advance against our liberty.!
Reply to this comment
by pensacola8-2009 March 20, 2010 1:41 AM EDT
Whenever I weigh the war-making capacity of Syria against that of Israel, it is clear that the USA has been entertaining a double standard that tolerates Israeli war-making, and condemns Syria. Being reared as a Catholic, I never questioned the USA's support of Israel, until the 1980's when I clearly saw evidence that Israel created many enemies and lifelong victims that span across two generations. An expose' narrated by Sam Donaldson of ABC clearly showed that Israeli occupation of an encampment of Palestinian people kept millions without utilities or basic sanitation. I had a change of heart about Israelis after seeing that. The WW-II concentration camps that housed Jews were now replaced with similar oppression encampments run by Israelis against Palestinians.

The Syrians clearly have sympathy for their Palestinian neighbors and feel their support against Israeli oppression is justified. I am inclined to agree. The Israelis have milked the breasts of US foreign policy for Congressional budget outlays for years, and secured weapons and technology. I am in favor of cutting the outlays off from Israel. I am also in favor of cutting off our technology sharing with Israel, and cutting off weapons export to Israel. Hardliner Israelis are spying on the USA in search of intelligence needed to defeat Arab opposition. The recent assassinations are clear evidence that the USA's collaboration with Israel carries more liability than gain for the USA.
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