Zombie
28th April 2003, 02:30
Naharnet.com
Beirut, 27 Apr 2003
A U.S. Congressman has demanded from President Assad to stop his support of Hizbullah and said Syria must withdraw its army from sovereign Lebanon, threatening American sanctions in case of Syrian intransigence.
"Hizbullah's control of Lebanon's border with Israel is unacceptable," said Tom Lantos, a California Democrat and House International Relations Committee member, in a press conference he held in Damascus after meeting Assad on Saturday.
Newsmen were alarmed by the harsh tone Lantos used against the Assad regime right from the heart of the Syrian capital and right after meeting the Syrian president at the people's palace. His tough stance was seen as indicative of the pressure levels the U.S. will reach to coerce Syria into falling in line.
Lantos warned that he would press for a congressional bill to clamp economic and political sanctions against Syria if it fails to pull out from Lebanon, discontinue support of Hizbullah, shutdown offices of Palestinian militant groups in Damascus and stop its quest for mass destruction weapons.
"I told President Assad that Syria's position in the U.S. dropped dramatically as we saw the transfer of military equipment from and through Syria to Iraq, and a large number of Syrian fighters joining a doomed and dying regime in Iraq," Lantos said.
"This was a very bad and historic mistake, and the time is long overdue to correct the course of Syria's policy," he added.
Syria has rejected such claims, first made by U.S. officials such as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and called the Bush administration's flurry of charges a campaign of misinformation aimed at diverting attention from the civilian casualties caused by coalition forces in Iraq.
Saddam's ouster offered Syria a "historic opportunity for the beginning of a new relationship" with the United States, Lantos told reporters, but this is in the hands of President Assad. Damascus, however, had to do more to crack down on organizations regarded by Washington as terrorist groups, he said.
"We find that there should not be headquarters of terrorist organizations in Damascus," he said. "These should be closed if Syria is to embark on a new relationship with the U.S. Secondly, the ongoing support and supply of Hizbullah military activities through the airport in Damascus must end."
Lantos was clearly referring to U.S. and Israeli media reports about alleged airlifts form Iranian missiles to Hizbullah in Lebanon via Syria.(Naharnet-AP)
Beirut, 27 Apr 2003
A U.S. Congressman has demanded from President Assad to stop his support of Hizbullah and said Syria must withdraw its army from sovereign Lebanon, threatening American sanctions in case of Syrian intransigence.
"Hizbullah's control of Lebanon's border with Israel is unacceptable," said Tom Lantos, a California Democrat and House International Relations Committee member, in a press conference he held in Damascus after meeting Assad on Saturday.
Newsmen were alarmed by the harsh tone Lantos used against the Assad regime right from the heart of the Syrian capital and right after meeting the Syrian president at the people's palace. His tough stance was seen as indicative of the pressure levels the U.S. will reach to coerce Syria into falling in line.
Lantos warned that he would press for a congressional bill to clamp economic and political sanctions against Syria if it fails to pull out from Lebanon, discontinue support of Hizbullah, shutdown offices of Palestinian militant groups in Damascus and stop its quest for mass destruction weapons.
"I told President Assad that Syria's position in the U.S. dropped dramatically as we saw the transfer of military equipment from and through Syria to Iraq, and a large number of Syrian fighters joining a doomed and dying regime in Iraq," Lantos said.
"This was a very bad and historic mistake, and the time is long overdue to correct the course of Syria's policy," he added.
Syria has rejected such claims, first made by U.S. officials such as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and called the Bush administration's flurry of charges a campaign of misinformation aimed at diverting attention from the civilian casualties caused by coalition forces in Iraq.
Saddam's ouster offered Syria a "historic opportunity for the beginning of a new relationship" with the United States, Lantos told reporters, but this is in the hands of President Assad. Damascus, however, had to do more to crack down on organizations regarded by Washington as terrorist groups, he said.
"We find that there should not be headquarters of terrorist organizations in Damascus," he said. "These should be closed if Syria is to embark on a new relationship with the U.S. Secondly, the ongoing support and supply of Hizbullah military activities through the airport in Damascus must end."
Lantos was clearly referring to U.S. and Israeli media reports about alleged airlifts form Iranian missiles to Hizbullah in Lebanon via Syria.(Naharnet-AP)