Posted on 01/08/2005 12:26:53 PM PST by Ooh-Ah
US Senator John Kerry said Saturday after talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad he is hopeful that strained US-Syrian relations can be improved. Assad in return assured Kerry he is interested in dialogue with Washington.
The former Democratic presidential candidate, who arrived in Damascus Friday, met for two hours with Assad before meeting separately with Foreign Minister Farouk a-Sharaa.
The talks centered on the situation in Iraq and how to prevent militants from entering Iraq through Syria.
"I think we found a great deal of areas of mutual interest, some common concerns and some possibilities for initiatives that could be taken in the future to strengthening relationship between the US and Syria," Kerry told reporters after meeting with a-Sharaa.
"I can assure you that I leave here with a sense that we can improve our relationship. There are significant possibilities, particularly with the elections in Iraq and the elections in the West Bank," Kerry said. "This is the moment of opportunity for the Middle East, for the US and for the world. I hope that we would seize that opportunity."
Kerry said there were "still concerns" that need to be addressed. "But I came away confident that the president and foreign minister are interested in moving in the right direction, and I am hopeful they will," he said.
Assad stressed "the importance of dialogue between the two sides over all issues under discussion, especially those of common interest," Syria's official news agency reported without elaborating.
Kerry's visit comes amid strained US-Syrian relations, particularly over accusations by American and Iraqi interim government officials that Damascus is doing too little to stop border infiltration. Washington also accuses Syria of backing Palestinian militant groups opposed to Israel.
Syria denies both claims but says it can't fully control its long, porous border with Iraq and regards Palestinian militants as fighters opposed to Israel's illegal occupation of Arab territories.
Kerry said he and Assad also discussed issues of importance to the region and to both countries, including Iraq, security, Lebanon and weapons of mass destruction.
"We discussed the war on terror and a number of issues between our countries with respect to economics and economic reform and the future of our relationship," he said.
Later, as Kerry was about to get into his car outside the Foreign Ministry building, 13-year-old Mustafa al-Nabulsi approached him with a drawing of the senator as a soldier in his Vietnam days.
"You have made me much more important than I was, though. You made me a general," Kerry told the teen.
"I wish you were the president," al-Nabulsi responded in English.
"Thank you very much. So do I. Thank you for this," Kerry said. He asked for the boy's address, and al-Nabulsi gave him his mobile number.
A few months ago, Washington imposed sanctions on Syria under an act accusing Damascus of seeking weapons of mass destruction, a charge Syria denies, and hosting Palestinian groups Washington deems terrorist.
In September, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling on Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon and dismantle the Syrian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group.
More recently, US President George W. Bush has warned Syria and Iran against "meddling" in the internal affairs of Iraq.
Kerry arrived from Iraq, where he met US troops in the volatile northern city of Mosul, the scene of a suicide bombing last month on a military base that killed 22 people, including 14 US soldiers and three American contractors.
I'll bet.
Is it true his first words to Assad were, "There's no place like home! There's no place like home!"?
I guess Kerry is reduced to pretending that he's President now.
All we need now is another Jimmy Carter mucking around in foreign policy.......John Kerry should traipse off with Ramsey Clarke to some remote beach in Tahiti. They can enjoy their retirement together without further embarrassing themselves.
He probably asked Assad to keep a lid on Iraq's WMDs stashed in Syria until after 2008.
Is it true his first words to Assad were, "There's no place like home! There's no place like home!"?
Gee, Toto, I don't think we're in kansas anymore.
And I hope he never comes back
Should have sent the memo to JohnnyNam as well, not that he would have heeded it.
This just doesn't seem right. Condi needs to take this guy to the woodshed when she gets in.
Nothing new, the Fraud is still meeting with our enemies.
That is, loser, not looser.
Yeah. That's always the bummer. They always come back.
Headline should have been: "Assad Meets Asswipe" (That's pronounced "Ah-SWEE-pay!").
Anyone want to bet that the traitor didn't meet with Al Qaeda, too?
I'm surprised they didn't meet in Paris...'til now that has been Kerry's choice of venue for meeting with enemy leaders....
God forbid this guy should stop farting around with all his meaningless self aggrandizing activities and actually show up to do the job he was hired to do by the voters of Massachusetts.
We need to start calling him Senator No-Show.
...and Bush doesn't F it up
Yeah, 13 year old boys in Syria all have cell phones.
This scene was a set-up; I'd bet any amount on it. Furthermore, the Bush administration continues to demonstrate a dangerous incompetence in media and PR matters by allowing these types of stunts by political opponents.
Anythings possibel. He did get what is alledged to be a little boys "mobile number".
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