Djirjian and the Syrian track

Former US under secretary of state for Middle Eastern affairs Edward Djirjian has stressed that the Syrian- Israeli track will not witness a move in the last months of US President Bill Clinton's term.

In a statement to the Kuwaiti daily al-Rai al-Am issued on Friday, Djirjian added that the feeling in Washington is that the Syrian track has to wait till the next US administration.

Djirjian added that the US administration has shown it wants strong relations with Damascus and that it is ready to cooperate with Lt. Gen. Bashar al-Assad to work on various pending files between Washington and Damascus. He stressed that Washington is concerned with Syria's stability and with continuing the policy set by the late President Hafez al-Assad.

Djirjian expected that Bashar al-Assad will not make many changes in his late father's foreign policy.

He said " We might see Bashar's marks on new policies but I do not expect to see fundamental change on the foreign policy set by his late father along 30 years, especially towards the Arab-Israeli peace process, and the relations with Lebanon and each of Iraq and Iran."