Secretary of State Colin Powell says Syria has "agreed" to work on securing its border with Iraq.
Syria agreed yesterday to step up cooperation with the United States and Iraq along the Iraq-Syria border, a major entry point for terrorists and money headed for the Iraqi insurgency.The agreement — raising prospects for a thaw in U.S.-Syrian relations — was reached during a meeting between Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara at the United Nations.
"We discussed ... their actions along the Syrian-Iraq border and the need for all of us to do more, and I think the Syrians are anxious to do more working with the coalition and especially, and more importantly, working with the Iraqi government," Mr. Powell told reporters after the meeting.
"It's a tough military mission and a tough political mission, but I sense a new attitude from the Syrians." he said. "But, of course, it all depends on actions, not just attitudes, so we'll be working closely with them."
He also praised Syria's plans to redeploy about 3,000 of its almost 20,000 troops in Lebanon from the outskirts of Beirut closer to the Syria-Lebanon border.
As noted earlier, this seems like the triumph of hope over experience. Ariel Sharon seems to agree.
Although Mr. Powell welcomed the Syrian troop movements out of the Beirut area, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remained deeply suspicious.Posted by Alan at September 23, 2004 05:33 AM"We don't, at this point, see a change in Syria's position," he said on Israeli radio. "Syria is under U.S. pressure these days because it is helping Iraqi terrorists. ... They have an interest in taking steps that will take off or weaken the pressure."