BEIRUT, 2 May 2003 — Syria, awaiting a visit by US Secretary of State Colin Powell this week, said yesterday it wants dialogue, not ultimatums, from Washington. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara told reporters that view would be the basis of talks with Powell today. Powell is on a tour to build support for regional peacemaking after the US-led war that ousted Saddam Hussein in neighboring Iraq.
The United States has warned Damascus to learn from Saddam’s fall and stop support for Hezbollah and Palestinian activists. “We believe in dialogue, not presenting demands,” Shara told reporters. Washington has accused Syria for letting volunteer fighters into Iraq, and allegedly providing Iraq with military equipment and shelter for officials of Saddam’s deposed government.
Shara deflected questions on Hezbollah, which with Syrian and Iranian support helped end Israel’s 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in 2000, referring to his country’s stance that the group is legitimate resistance to Israel. “Hezbollah is a political party and part of Lebanon’s social fabric, and our Lebanese brethren can answer this question,” he said.
Shara arrived in Lebanon earlier in the day for talks with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud ahead of a visit by Powell to both countries. Shara said his country was “analyzing” a call by French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin on Wednesday for Syrian troops to pull out from Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 520.
The Syrian minister said he was in Lebanon “to deliver a letter to President (Emile) Lahoud from President Bashar Assad and to discuss with him Colin Powell’s visit to the region and matters of common interest to both countries.” Before going to meet with Lahoud, Shara met with his Lebanese counterpart, Jean Obeid, with the two discussing “issues concerning Lebanon and Syria, the situation in Iraq, what is happening on the Palestinian scene and bilateral relations.” Obeid rejected the French call on Wednesday, saying Syria’s presence was a matter solely between the two countries.
