
In another possible sign of a changing U.S. foreign policy, Senate Foreign Relations Committee head Senator John Kerry met Saturday with Syrian President Bashar Assad. "I believe very deeply that this is an important moment of change, a moment of potential transformation, not just in the relationship between the United States and Syria but in the relationship of the region," Kerry said after the meeting.
Senator Kerry announced that Syria has expressed its interest in helping create a Palestinian Authority unity government. “If you achieve that, then you have made a major step forward not only in dealing with the problems of Gaza, but you have made a major step forward in terms of how you reignite discussions for the two-state solution,” Kerry stated after his meeting with Assad.
The U.S. still officially considers Syria as a major funder of terrorism organizations. Nevertheless, U.S. President Barack Obama has said that he is seeking to engage countries like Syria and Iran in dialogue. However, Damascus remains close to Iran, and is still a staunch supporter of Hizbullah – two things that would have to change significantly before there could be warm relations between the U.S. and Syria, diplomats said.
The U.S. State Department announced Friday that it had scheduled a meeting with Syria’s Ambassador to Washington to iron out differences between the U.S. and Syria in the first such meeting in several months.
“Our concerns include Syria’s support to terrorist groups and networks, Syria’s pursuit of nuclear and unconventional weaponry, interference in Lebanon and a worsening human rights situation,” State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid stated.
Kerry Maintains Hard Line Against Hamas
Hamas, which maintains ties with Syria, denied on Friday having passed on a letter to John Kerry for President Barack Obama. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum told the French AFP news agency, “Hamas denies having given a letter to John Kerry. However, we are willing to forge ties with anyone who is ready to back the rights of the Palestinian people.”
However, Jerusalem-based United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) spokesman Christopher Gunness earlier stated that Kerry was given a letter believed to be from Hamas.
On Kerry’s tour of Gaza, he reiterated that he supported Israel’s right to defend itself, and that his visit did not indicate a shift in the U.S. policy, which maintains Hamas to be a terrorist organization.
Kerry co-sponsored in the Senate the Syria Accountability Act, which grants the U.S. president the authority to sanction Syria, a concrete step against Syria's support for terror and its occupation of Lebanon. The act became law in December 2003.