Brussels, 14/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - Javier Solana's tour of the Middle East, which started in Lebanon and continued in Saudi Arabia, ended in Syria on Wednesday, where his arrival was interpreted as an end to the isolation of the country and acknowledgement of its role in the region. This visit - the first made by the high representative for the CFSP to the country for two years - certainly marks a turning point, but the Europeans are expecting concrete commitments on Syria's part.
Mr Solana asked President Bashar el-Assad to make “great efforts” to implement resolution 1701 of the United Nations and, in particular, to stop the trafficking in weapons between Syria and Lebanon. Damascus's contribution is felt to be “of fundamental importance to achieve the peace, stability and independence of Lebanon”, he stressed, after a meeting which was felt to have gone very well. Previously, Mr Solana had stated the Europeans' willingness to support Syria in its efforts to regain the Golan Heights, territory occupied by Israel. “We hope to do all that is in our power to see your country, Syria, re-occupy the territory which was taken from you in 1967”, Mr Solana told a joint press conference with Syrian Foreign Affairs Minister Wallid Mouallem. In Lebanon and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict alike, “a constructive commitment on Syria's part would certainly have a positive influence on relations between Europe and Syria and would open up new possibilities for cooperation”, said Frank-Walter Steinmeier, commenting from Berlin on Mr Solana's visit to Damascus.
Europe's firmness towards Syria, which has been ostracised since accusations were launched regarding the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, has been challenged by several member states, particularly the United Kingdom, but also Germany. Others followed, including the Italian head of government, who spoke to President Bashar el-Assad by telephone on Tuesday. These countries have also helped to relax the “cordon sanitaire” broken by the sudden resumption of dialogue between Washington and Damascus, leaving Javier Solana with no other choice but to resume contact, even though Syria has, to date, offered nothing in return or made any gestures in response to European requests.
On his way to Damascus, Mr Solana reiterated, in Beirut on Monday and in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (EUROPE 9385) the requirement that Syria get involved in normal diplomatic relations both in the field of inter-Lebanese disputes and in the Israeli-Palestinian dossier. His room for manoeuvre, however, has been judged to be extremely small. The diplomatic pressure brought to bear by Brussels is of a fairly low level. The EU has, in fact, no other argument than the resumption of cooperation via the approval of the association agreement, which has been negotiated but not signed. There is no hurry, said a Syrian diplomatic source. However, there is information, which has not yet been confirmed at this stage, of a “plan” which “aims to spare the family of President Bashar el-Assad the proceedings of the international court”, which are in the hands of Belgian magistrate Serge Brammertz, and the conclusions of which are soon to be announced. According to the Lebanese press, the head of the international investigation committee into this assassination is soon to put forward the seventh progress report established by the committee to the Secretary General of the UN.
Syria has made its feelings known on these announced conclusions. The Syrian vice-president, Farouk al-Sharaa, has called on the Lebanese protagonists not to “politicise” the international court which is to judge the alleged murderers of Rafik Hariri. Quoted by the Syrian press agency on Wednesday, he stated that the court, “which has been accepted in principle by all the parties”, even though Damascus denies any involvement in the assassination and regrets the fact that it was not consulted when the court was being constituted, should not “be used as a sword of Damocles, just as it should not be politicised”. Speaking of his meetings with Mr Solana, Vice-President al-Sharaa warned: “Anybody who uses the dossier of the international court to brandish threats every day does not want the court and does not want the truth about who murdered Rafik Hariri to be known”. “They want only to use the court as an instrument of pressure, for political ends, and Syria cannot accept this”, he added. (fb/ab)