Sunday, July 12, 2009

Will Obama Accept Syria’s Invitation?


Avraham Zuroff
A7 News

U.S. President Barack Obama stated that the United States and Syria began diplomatic contacts between them. However, he emphasized that he expects a long way ahead for the two countries. In an interview on the British Sky News TV channel to be broadcast Sunday, Obama didn’t explicitly state whether he would accept an invitation from Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.
. When asked whether he would accept Assad’s invitation for face-to-face negotiations, Obama said, “Well, you know I think that we've started to see some diplomatic contacts between the United States and Syria. There are aspects of Syrian behavior that trouble us and, you know, we think that there is a way that Syria can be much more constructive on a whole host of these issues.” The U.S. President continued, “But, as you know, I'm a believer in engagement and my hope is that we can continue to see progress on that front.”

The Syrian leader stated earlier this month that he would welcome Obama in Syria to discuss Middle East issues. “We would like to welcome him in Syria, definitely. I am very clear about this,” Assad told Sky News.

The change in Washington’s tone towards Syria occurred last month when the United States said that they would send an ambassador to Damascus. The move was an about-face from former President George W. Bush’s cancellation of diplomatic relations after they alleged that Syria was involved in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

A year ago Sunday, Assad said he would not meet with then Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, even though both of them attended a French-supported Mediterranean Union summit. At the time, Turkey was brokering talks between Israel and Syria. Assad said that direct talks between Syria and Israel would not be possible during the Bush administration since Bush “was not interested” in seeing Israel and Syria make a deal.
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