Syria Rejects Limited Talks With U.S.

Syria on Tuesday rejected a U.S. proposal to have Washington's top diplomat here discuss the Iraqi refugee crisis with Damascus, saying it would only talk with the U.S. if the two countries spoke about all regional issues.

The state-run Al-Thawra newspaper said in an editorial that the United States "when it raised the issue of dialogue" with Syria only wanted to discuss the repercussions of the Iraqi refugee problem while "ignoring the cause."

Syria insists on "a serious and profound dialogue on all the region's issues without exception," the paper said in the front-page editorial published Tuesday.

Rice recently authorized the top U.S. diplomat in Syria, Charge d'Affaires Michael Corbin, to discuss the refugee problem here with the Syrian government, apparently in an effort to provide help. About 1 million Iraqi refugees have fled the war to Syria.

Al-Thawra said that Syria wants talks with Washington to cover all regional issues, including the Palestinian problem, Iraq and the stalled Middle East peace process.

"Had the United Stated been serious about starting dialogue, it would have demanded that all the region's problems be discussed as one package," the paper said. "No one could ever think that any problem is separated from the other."

Despite Damascus' rejection of talks with the U.S., it appears an international outcry over the government's treatment of refugees from Iraq has forced a change in policy.

CBS News reporter Edward Yeranian says President Bashar Assad's government has lifted tough restrictions on the refugees which required them to leave after two weeks in the country. They will now be issued permits to live and work in Syria for one month, and that can be renewed for two additional months.

The right to find legitimate work in their temporary, adopted home may alleviate some of the pressure on female Iraqi refuges who fled their home country with children to support, and having lost their husbands and brothers to the war.

CBS News correspondent Liz Palmer recently filed a report from Damascus (read more) highlighting the desperation of these women, many of whom have been forced to turn to prostitution to feed their children.

U.S.-Syrian relations have been poor for years over Damascus' support for Palestinian militant groups and the Lebanese Hezbollah. The U.S. also accuses Syria of not doing enough to prevent militants from crossing its border into Iraq. Syria has denied the allegations.

The Bush administration has been reluctant to engage Syria in high-level discussions about security in Iraq and on other regional issues.

Washington's tough stance comes despite recommendations by the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group and several Middle Eastern countries to bring Syria and Iran into the diplomatic fold on finding a solution to the security situation in Iraq.

Meanwhile, President Assad accused the "enemies" of Islamic countries of trying to sow discord, Iranian state television's Web site reported Sunday after the Syrian leader ended his visit to Iran.

Assad's visit, his fifth since taking office in 2000, comes at a time when some Arab diplomats have said Syria feels betrayed by Iran because of a joint Iranian-Saudi Arabian effort to clamp down on sectarian tensions in Iraq and violence in Lebanon. Syria has largely alienated many of its traditional Arab allies but has had close ties to Iran for years.

Arab observers have said there are also newfound tensions between majority Shiite Iran and majority Sunni Syria over their differing interests in Iraq.

"The creation of a rift among Muslims is their latest weapon, which is more dangerous than their previous plans," the state television site quoted Assad as saying. The site did not elaborate on who those "enemies" might be, but during his two-day trip the Syrian president also accused the U.S. and Israel of having "ominous aims."