A report in yesterday's As-Safir covered a recent press conference given by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. According to the pro-opposition Lebanese daily, al-Assad voiced that the US's role in any future peace deal with Israel is essential, and is one that cannot be matched by any European country. He stated that this is primarily due to the US's close relationship with Israel, who he believes is more serious – 'to a certain extent’- about peace than it was in 2000.
His comments came shortly before his departure for France to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, to whom he attributes the improvement in Franco-Syrian relations. In Paris, the Syrian president will also be taking part in a Mediterranean summit and will be meeting with new Lebanese President Michel Suleiman. Under Jacques Chirac, relations between Syria and France went cold, especially after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
The Syrian president also made a few comments on security cooperation with the US. He claims that, although Syria attempted to cooperate with the US on counter-terrorism after 9-11, the two countries did not agree as to who should be leading such operations. According to al-Assad, after security relations with the US were cut off in early 2004, Syria refused US attempts to have the relations reestablished, stating that there would be “No security relations [with the US] without political relations.”
US media reported this relationship ending in May of 2005 against the backdrop of of the Hariri assassination and Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon. Note that Syria has served as a port of entry for Iraq-bound insurgents/foreign fighters since the beginning of the war.
Although it's not clear if the Iraq situation is specifically what al-Assad is referring to here in terms of cooperation, it's likely that Syria will continue to bank on its ‘utility’ in counter-terrorism operations, and in curbing the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq, as a means to facilitate a form of US participation in future talks with Israel that is more conducive to its interests.
