Washington, February 18: As Barack Obama moved formally to repair US relations with Syria by nominating an ambassador to serve there after a five-year hiatus, William Burns, America’s top career diplomat, held talks in Damascus yesterday with the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad on an array of security issues in the region.
The sudden flurry of activity reflects a gamble by Washington that engaging more closely with Syria it can persuade it to take steps on a number of fronts that it sees as being vital to improving stability in the Middle East with regard to all its neighbours – Iran, Iraq, Lebanon as well as Israel.
Emerging from his meeting with President Bashar, Mr Burns said the nomination of Robert Ford, a top Arabist at the US State Department, confirmed “America’s readiness to improve relations and to cooperate in the pursuit of [a] just, lasting and comprehensive peace between Arabs and Israelis”.
–Agencies