LEBANON: PM SINIORA TO PETRAEUS: PUSH SYRIA TO GET
BACK IN ARAB FOLD

Siniora sorgt sich um den politischen Einfluss Syriens auf den Libanon, und hält die Amerikaner dazu an, diesen Einfluss zu verhindern und den Syrern in Verhandlungen keine voreiligen Zugeständnisse zu machen. Petraeus wiederum betont sein Interesse an verbesserten Beziehungen mit Syrien, für die er aber keine Möglichkeit sieht, solange Syrien terroristische Gruppierungen protegiert und hat daher an ihn gerichtete Einladungen von Seiten Assads bislang ausgeschlagen.

Siniora encouraged the U.S. to push Syria to
respect the sovereignty of other states (namely Lebanon) as a way to bring Syria back into the Arab fold, rather than
continuing to align itself with Iran.[...]Syria, Siniora said, has geopolitical significance.
He said Lebanon desired a mutually respectful relationship
with Syria and lauded the establishment of diplomatic
relations between Lebanon and Syria as a good first step.
However, other issues, such as border delineation and the
presence of PFLP-GC military camps, supported by Syria, on the border, remain. Siniora commented on the signs of
increased U.S. engagement with Syria, but he advised the United States to be careful not to give any rewards to Syria without Syria taking action first. Most importantly, the U.S. should not allow Syria -- or other states in the region -- to use Lebanon as a platform or battleground; engagement with Syria should not come at the expense of Lebanon, Siniora said.General Petraeus assured Siniora that the U.S. administration understood Lebanon's concerns. He told Siniora that Syrian President Bashar Asad had invited him to visit several times, but the time was not yet appropriate. Syria, he added, continues to allow Al Qaeda-affiliated facilitation networks to operate from its territory and allow the transit of suicide bombers into Iraq. General Petraeus added that the U.S. would like to see Syria return to the Arab world and develop closer ties to the western world, rather than continue to align itself with Iran.

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Update 07.12.2010, 23:58: Auf erreichbaren Link umgeleitet