On Syrian- US relations

In its March 11 issue, the Israeli daily Jerusalem Post said that American sources in Washington said that the American administration considers Syria as an important side in any new alliance against Iraq and therefore it tries to avoid troubling the atmospheres in Damascus.

The paper added that within this policy the US President George Bush and his foreign minister Colin Powell refused last week to meet with the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Nasrullah Sfeir despite the invitations from high ranking officials to convene these meetings, noting that among these invitations was that of the US energy secretary Spencer Abraham, who is of a Lebanese origin.

The paper added that the US state department offered to Sfeir to meet with the US under secretary of state for the near east affairs Edward Walker but Sfeir refused and said he wants to meet only with high ranking officials.

The Israeli paper added that after Sfeir's refusal, Walker by his side also refused a lunch invitation held by the Lebanese embassy in Washington in honor of Sfeir on Thursday.