Syrian President Bashar Assad promised Tuesday to keep talking with the United states despite Washington's recent approval of sanctions against his country following accusations that it supports terrorism. "We are optimistic about our dialogue with the United States, which has never ended," Assad said while visiting Greece to seek closer trade ties with the European Union.
| "I don't want to end up hiding in a hole. Let me think my way out of this paper bag..." |
"We accept delegations, there is an ongoing dialogue," Assad said after talks with Greek Premier Costas Simitis. The American legislators who discussed the new law with Assad said US-Syrian disagreements could still be resolved. Meanwhile, Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday said the government should seriously consider a Syrian offer to renew peace talks.
Silvan shalom offered one of the most positive public responses from an Israeli official to the Syrian overture, made earlier this month in a New York Times interview. Several other Israeli leaders and academics have brushed the offer aside, calling it insincere and a shrewd attempt to deflect pressure from the United States, which is threatening sanctions if Syria fails to withdraw troops from Lebanon and stop militants and arms from crossing its border with Iraq. Shalom acknowledged that such an interpretation might be the case, but that efforts to make peace Syria must go ahead anyway. |