United States Senator John Kerry said Wednesday that the new U.S. administration plans to take a new tack in the effort to disarm Lebanese terrorist group Hizbullah, by asking Syria to join the effort. Syria is the sponsor of Hizbullah and provides the group with weapons.
"We want Syria to respect the political independence of Lebanon, we want Syria to help in the process of resolving issues with Hizbullah and the Palestinians,” Kerry said.
Kerry, who heads the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, is currently visiting Lebanon. He met Wednesday with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Later this week, he is expected to visit Damascus.
President Barack Obama's administration will “engage in a discussion,” Kerry said. However, the administration will hold dialogue “without any illusion, without any naivety, without any misplaced belief that, just by talking, things will automatically happen,” he assured.
Israel communicated with Syria last year via Turkish mediators in hopes of negotiating for a long-term peace. Syria expressed interest in striking a deal that would involve the return of the Golan region, but Syrian leaders adamantly refused to cut their ties with Iran.
Report: Syria Increases Chemical Weapons Output
According to a recent report from the defense analyst group Jane's, Syria is expanding a chemical weapons plant. The plant, located in the northwestern A-Sapir region, grew between 2005 and 2008, satellite images show.
The A-Sapir plant was the site of a 2007 incident in which more than a dozen Syrian soldiers and several Iranian engineers and technicians were killed in an explosion. Foreign intelligence experts said the blast apparently took place as engineers attempted to put a chemical warhead containing mustard gas onto a Scud missile.
A nearby missile base was the site of construction as well, according to the images procured by Jane's. The base is believed to contain many of Syria's long-range Scud D missiles.