Syrian source and the relations with Washington

The Qatari daily al-Watan quoted a Syrian diplomatic source as saying that the Syrian leadership is making contacts and dialogues with the American administration in order to prevent the occurrence of any deterioration in bilateral relations in light of the pressures made by the Jewish Lobby on this administration in order to take more measures and provocative steps against the Arabs and Muslims.

In a statement to the paper issued on Tuesday, the source said that the meeting of the foreign minister Farouk al-Shara with his American peer Colin Powell and the important talks the US congress delegation held with President Bashar al-Assad during its recent visit to Damascus fall in the framework of the Syrian- American dialogue aiming at preserving a certain level of relations between the two countries and not to have these relations deteriorated.

On whether Damascus had received warning messages from the US concerning the question of terrorism and considering the Hizbullah organization and the opposition Palestinian groups which reside in Damascus as terrorist movements, the source said that this issue is not new and that Washington had in the past for many times asked Syria and Lebanon to control the Hizbullah, but the source noted that the American tone towards this matter has changed.

Simultaneously, the source ruled out a deterioration or a crisis in the relations between Damascus and Washington, stressing that the US has realized the importance of the Syrian role in the Middle East.