On the talks between al-Shara, Powell

The Kuwaiti daily al-Anbaa quoted a Syrian source as saying that the Syrian foreign minister Farouk al-Shara explained to his American counterpart Colin Powell the nature of the Syrian policy at the regional level and its policy towards the peace process and he noted that the US role in the ME settlement should stay active and not inclined to policies of the countries of the region and its regional strategies.

Al-Shara made an assessment to the peace process since its launching in 1991 at Madrid conference, noting that the former US administration could not play an advanced role towards the settlement and that by its concentration on one track, it has made the concept of comprehensive peace loose its actual role, and this in turn resulted in escalation of tension and put the region into open possibilities, which were used by Israel in voicing direct threats to Syria and Lebanon.

The source indicated that the Syrian and American sides reviewed the nature of the current phase and the possibility of resuming the negotiations on the Syrian- Israeli track. The Syrian side explained that the administration of the former "President George Bush, the father, " could through its intensive diplomacy convene the Madrid conference which has acquired its legitimacy based on international legitimacy and the land for peace formula.

The source explained that the Syrian side considered during the talks that any new pressures will not help attaining a clear detente and that the Damascus current position is based on considerations relating to conditions surfaced following ten years from the second Gulf war, noting the need of containing consequences of this war and building of reconciliation that states the implementation of UN resolution and all what have been made by Syria recently is considered a humanitarian attitude, rather than a violation (in reference to Iraq).

It indicated that Powell's visit to Syria aimed at the first place at dealing with the Iraqi issue, a subject which had annoyed the Syrian diplomacy which was optimistic over the new US administration and its abilities to play a remarkable role in the peace process.

The source focused on that Powell intended in his visit to Syria to convey several inquiries about the Iraqi oil pipeline and the extent of the willingliness of the Syrian government to export this oil without returning back to the sanctions committee.