A message from Bush to al- Assad
Syria-USA, Politics, 7/9/2001

The Syrian foreign minister Farouk al-Shara on Saturday in Damascus received the US under secretary of state for the Middle East affairs William Burns, who handed him a message from US President George Bush to President Bashar al-Assad.

Present at the meeting were the deputy foreign minister Walid al-Muaallim, the directors of the US department at the Syrian foreign ministry Hamzeh Hamzeh and the US charge de affairs in Damascus David Burs.

Talks dealt with developments in the region. The foreign minister stressed that "Israel's aggressive policy escalates the already tense conditions in the region and resulting in killing, on daily basis Palestinians." He stressed that the UN resolutions and the Madrid's terms of reference are the sole way to achieve peace and security in the region and that partial solutions and double- standard are futile.

Concerning Iraq, Foreign minister al-Shara stressed that there is an Arab unanimous position to lift the sanctions imposed on Iraq and to put an end to the sufferings of the Iraqi people.

Al-Shara called on the US to carry out its assigned responsibilities and to play its honest role in implementing the international legitimacy resolutions on all parties in the region.

In statements to the press following the meeting, Burns described his talks with al-Shara as good.

He added that discussions dealt with several regional and bilateral issues. He continued that he stressed to al- Shara Syria's appreciation for the key role played by Syria in the region and her positive commitment.

Burns stressed the US strong and effective commitment to revive the comprehensive peace process in the region as soon as possible on the ground of UN resolutions 242 and 338, the land for peace principle and the Madrid's terms of reference.

Burns indicated that the US is making active efforts in an attempt to implement the whole package of the Mitchell report, noting that this operation ( Mitchell report implementation) is not an alternative for the comprehensive peace process, rather aims at helping the Palestinians and the Israelis, together to return back to the negotiations.

Previous Stories:
  Russian- American consultations over Syria's military   (6/12/2001)
  Bush appoints a new ambassador in Damascus   (5/17/2001)
  American paper to amend sanctions imposed on Iraq   (5/17/2001)

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