EU-DIGEST

Former US President Carter meets Hamas leader again

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter met with the exiled leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas for the second time this year. Sunday's meeting in Damascus is part of Carter's regional discussions on Middle East conflicts. Hamas officials kept reporters away from the venue and no news conference was scheduled. Hamas issued a statement but provided no details about what they talked about.

Note EU-Digest: President elect Barack Obama must have given his agreement for this meeting, although his staff said they were not involved.Whatever is said, this is the way diplomacy needs to be carried out.

Labels: Hamas, Syria, US

Sarkozy Reaches Out to Syria - by Steven Erlanger

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has announced plans to go to Syria next Wednesday to pursue restoring diplomatic ties and to seek the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, a French-Israeli soldier believed to be held by the Palestinian group Hamas, which is headquartered in Syria. Though the American government lists Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, France has moved to open talks with its president, Bashar al-Assad.

Labels: EU, France, Syria

Fear of new Mid East 'Cold War' as Syria strengthens military alliance with Russia - by Kevin O’Flynn and James Hider

Syria raised the prospect yesterday of having Russian missiles on its soil, sparking fears of a new Cold War in the Middle East. President Assad said as he arrived in Moscow to clinch a series of military agreements: “We are ready to co-operate with Russia in any project that can strengthen its security.” The Syrian leader told Russian newspapers: “I think Russia really has to think of the response it will make when it finds itself closed in a circle.”

Labels: Middle East, Russia, Syria

Iraq, EU to increase aid for health care of Iraqi refugees in Syria

The European Union (EU) here Monday signed an agreement with Syria on increasing financial aid worth 9 million euros (13 million U.S. dollars) to modernize health care utilities for Iraqi refugees in Syria. "The said amount will be used to supply 50 health care centers and a number of hospitals with necessary modern medical equipment in the regions mostly affected by the flow of Iraqi refugees," the European commission in Syria said in a statement. "The EU has decided to extend this additional aid through the program of modernizing health sector in Syria with a value of 30 million euros (44 million dollars), which comes as a result of the pressure created by the existence of a big number of Iraqi refugees in Syria who need health services," added the statement. The EU will also support Syrian health care centers to boost the quality of their services through increasing medical and administrative capabilities to meet the increasing public health demands of the Syrian and Iraqi people.

Labels: EU, Iraq, Medical, Syria

France ends contact with Syria over Lebanese presidential election

France is cutting off talks with Syria until Damascus shows its willingness to let Lebanon elect a new president, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said. Lebanon's Western-backed government and pro-Syrian opposition have been unable to break a deadlock over filling the presidential post, empty for a month, and many Western countries have accused Damascus of interfering in the process — a claim Syria denies. "I will not have any more contact with the Syrians until ... we have received proof of Syria's intention to let Lebanon designate a president of consensus," said Sarkozy at a press conference Sunday in Cairo after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Labels: EU, France, Lebanon, Sarkozy, Syria

Iraq President Assails Syria’s Support for Turkish Cross-Border Threat - by Ahmad Fadam

President Jalal Talabani of Iraq has criticized Syria for supporting Turkey’s threat to carry out military attacks against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.

Mr. Talabani’s comments were in reference to Mr. Assad’s endorsement of the Turkish Parliament’s decision on Wednesday to authorize cross-border incursions against Kurdish rebels. Turkey, however, has said that no strikes are imminent. The rebels, known as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K., use bases along the mountainous border to stage attacks inside Turkey in a separatist struggle that has continued for decades. Syria also has a large Kurdish minority and, like Turkey, fears that the substantial autonomy that Kurds inside Iraq have won will impel Kurds in Syria to seek similar concessions, or even independence. Turkey says about 3,000 rebels seeking an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey now operate out of bases in Iraq.

Labels: EU, Kurds, Syria, Turkey

Labels: EU, Syria

Pelosi Describes Talks with President al-Assad as Productive

Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday described her talks with President Bashar al-Assad as productive, saying "we came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace. Our visit to Syria was very necessary based on Baker- Hamilton Committee recommendations on Iraq and on the determination of Head of the House Foreign Affairs to visit Syria; Mrs. Pelosi told a news conference with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem."She added "the US delegation talks in Damascus concentrated on the necessity of achieving peace in the Middle East, combating terrorism and on regional issues", stressing that peace in the Middle East is of priority for the American people, the region and the world.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, for his part, underlined Syria's readiness to engage in dialogue, based on mutual respect, renewing Syria's commitment to achieve the just and comprehensive peace based on Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab lands including the Syrian Golan. "Differences in viewpoints between Syria and the US was because of the absence of dialogue and because Syria lives in this region which witnesses disorder," Minister Moallem said, describing the visit as a contribution to narrowing the gap of those differences."This visit paves the way for a constructive dialogue in future to hold best relations between the Syrian and American peoples," Foreign Minister added. Note EU-Digest: The visit of Mrs. Pelosi to Syria shows once again that dialog is always preferable to hostile actions and the US Speaker of the House and her bipartisan congressional delegation should be complimentated for this courages initiative.

Labels: Middle East, Peace, Pelosi, Syria, US

Syrian officials say Damascus played key role in getting British sailors released by Iran

Syria's information minister and foreign minister said Wednesday that Damascus had played a key role in resolving the standoff over the 15 British sailors held by Iran. Information Minister Mohsen Bilal said that Syria had been asked "to help positively in the issue of British sailors" since their March 23 seizure by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard navy in the Persian Gulf waters.

Labels: Britain, EU, Middle East, Syria, War