Jordan Times
Friday, August 20, 2004
Congressman Lantos, King
discuss regional developments
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh
AMMAN — Visiting US Congressman Tom Lantos said Thursday Syria's reluctance to
engage in the global war on terrorism was regrettable.
The representative, who was in Jordan on part of
a regional tour, described his visit to Damascus the day before as “a major
disappointment.”
He said Syria has not yet decided “decisively and conclusively that it wishes to
engage in the global war on terrorism, which clearly is agenda item number one
for the civilised world.”
“It is deeds not words in this struggle that we are looking for, and supporting
Hizbollah strengthens global terrorism. Syria is doing precisely that,” Lantos
told reporters at the US embassy here following talks with His Majesty King
Abdullah and Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher.
His talks with the King and Muasher focused on bilateral ties and regional
developments, as well as finding ways to end the spiralling violence in Iraq and
the occupied Palestinian territories.
In his meeting with Lantos, Muasher stressed the need for Israelis and
Palestinians to return to the negotiating table. The foreign minister reiterated
Jordan's position that Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza should fall
under the Quartet-backed roadmap for peace, which envisages an independent
Palestinian state by 2005.
“We share the same goals of a stable and prosperous region,” Lantos told
reporters.
Lantos, whose tour includes Egypt and Libya, said he had met with Syrian
President Bashar Assad in 2003 and asked that Syria's relationships with and
support for terrorist groups “cease.”
He said that he reminded the Syrian leader of his obligation to remove Syrian
troops from Lebanon. An estimated 16,000 Syrian troops are deployed in Lebanon.
“Lebanon is a sovereign country. It should not be occupied by Syrian troops,” he
added.
Earlier this week, the US again urged Syria to withdraw from Lebanon.
Lantos, who is the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations
Committee, warned of consequences to Syria if it failed to move in the right
direction.
“Regrettably from the point of view of Syrians, there is disinvestment in the
Syrian economy, while most countries in the region attract new capital,” he
said, urging the Syrian authorities to open up their markets.
“It's quite clear to me that Syria is not playing a constructive role in the
Middle East,” he said, urging the country to follow Libya's lead and cease all
ties with terrorist groups.
Formerly considered a terrorist state, Libya restored diplomatic ties with the
US after it gave up on a quest for weapons of mass destruction.
“Had you asked me a year ago whether I would think Libya or Syria would be
likely to make a significant and dramatic turn towards living with the 21st
century, I would not have guessed that it would be Libya,” he said.
Washington slapped sanctions on Syria in May, charging that the country sponsors
terrorism and seeks to produce weapons of mass destruction.
Lantos said the region was very fortunate that the one remaining superpower on
this planet was the US, which, he added, has no territorial ambitions, is
incredibly generous with its aid programmes and which has as its goal a stable
and prosperous and human rights respecting region.
“Clearly Jordan sees this and is acting accordingly, but clearly Syria has not
yet seen the light,” he said.