The Hindu : Syria-U.K. meet: Iraq proves the sticking point

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 17, 2002

International

International

Syria-U.K. meet: Iraq proves the sticking point

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON DEC 16. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, could not have asked for more Anglicised Arab guests than the U.K.-educated Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, and his London-born wife, Asma Assad, but even while the red carpet was being rolled out as they started a three-day visit to Britain today, a chill had already crept in because of the sharp differences between the two countries over Iraq.

The differences remained after the two leaders met at Downing Street and neither leader tried to hide them in their brief remarks to the press.

Earlier, unusually for a host, Mr. Blair spoke openly about what he described as "important differences of outlook and ambition between us'' on Iraq and terrorism. Mr. Assad was equally combative as he warned of the consequences of a war on Iraq reviving memories of their last encounter when Mr. Assad, then playing the host in Damascus, publicly embarrassed Mr. Blair with some pointed remarks on the U.S.-led "war on terror'' and the Palestinian crisis.

The Syrian President warned that an attack on Iraq would create a "fertile soil'' for terrorists in the region.

"The consequences are not going to be contained within Iraq. The entire region will enter into the unknown,'' he said in an interview to The Times. He also defended Palestinian suicide bombings saying they were a `reaction' to Israeli `terrorism' against the civilian Palestinian population.

Mr. Blair today criticised Syria's support for the Palestinian extremist groups, and said in his talks with Mr. Assad he would make the point that "you cannot be anything but 100 per cent against terror''. Writing in The Financial Times, ahead of the discussions, he warned of a "frank exchange'' on a range of issues including Syria's trade links with Iraq despite a U.N. embargo.

Downing Street was quoted as saying that it was "important that we have a dialogue that is honest and candid.'' It said Britain was concerned about terrorist groups operating out of Syria.

Mr. Assad, who is the first Syrian President to pay an official visit to Britain, was greeted with protests by pro-Israel groups for his support for Palestinian militants. The Israeli Government was also reported to be unhappy about the visit which is seen here as a significant diplomatic initiative by Mr. Blair to win over Iraq's closest Arab ally ahead of a possible military intervention in Baghdad. As the only Arab member of the U.N. Security Council, Syria's role would be crucial if the U.S. decides to go to war with Iraq without seeking a fresh U.N. mandate. Mr. Blair's effort would be to `soften' up his guest in order to avoid a confrontation in the U.N.

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