Envoy insists Syria cooperating with U.S.
Syrian ambassador responds to recalling of U.S. envoy, tensions
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Syria's ambassador to the United States said Wednesday his country has worked diligently to ease tensions with the United States.
Imad Moustapha was responding to the withdrawal of his U.S. counterpart from Syria over what U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said was "a growing list of differences" between Washington and Damascus.
Rice recalled Margaret Scobey for "urgent consultations" after Monday's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut.
Moustapha responded on CNN's "American Morning", saying his country has routinely strived to cooperate with the United States during the last 18 months.
"Whenever the United States came to Syria asking us for assistance ... we immediately engaged with the United States," Moustapha said.
"This has included our support for the elections in Iraq, our securing the borders. We have done everything possible to secure the borders between Syria and Iraq."
Syria has 13,000 troops in Lebanon, which officials say are there for peace-keeping reasons.
Moustapha also said that the most recent message he delivered to U.S. officials was that "Syria has the political will and desire to constructively engage with the United States and to improve relations with the United States."
Ambassador recalled
Rice had said she summoned Scobey home to discuss a "growing list of differences with the Syrian government."
Hariri was killed in an explosion Monday in which 16 other people died and 137 were wounded.
Scobey met with Syrian Foreign Minister Farook al-Shar'a for undisclosed reasons Wednesday before her scheduled departure.
In other top diplomatic talks, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns met Wednesday with Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud, calling for the implementation of a U.N. resolution passed last October that calls for the immediate withdrawal of the 13,000 Syrian troops that al-Shar'a says are stationed in Lebanon.
The troops' objective, according to Syria and the pro-Syrian Lebanese government, is to help maintain security.
Common interests, not united front
Wednesday, Syrian Prime Minister Naji al-Otari met with Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref in Tehran. Iran is also locked in a diplomatic confrontation with the United States over its nuclear power program and what President Bush says is its support for terrorism.
Earlier, the Iranian and Syrian officials pledged to cooperate in facing any threats, according a Reuters news service report.
But Wednesday Iran's foreign minister downplayed coordination between Iran and Syria, saying countries must cooperate to solve problems facing the entire Middle East.
At a news conference following talks with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said: "Iran and Syria have some common interests; that does not mean we are going to establish a united front.
"But we have to help, to cooperate with each other, from the Europeans, from countries in the Middle East, to solve problems the whole Middle East is facing."
Syria's troops
Rice did not accuse Syria of involvement in Hariri's death, but she said Syria's refusal to withdraw its troops was a factor.
"There is no doubt the conditions created by Syria's presence there have created a destabilized situation in Lebanon," she told reporters Tuesday. "That is very clear to everyone."
Moustapha dismissed the argument that Syrian troops could have stopped Hariri's assassination by a massive bomb in downtown Beirut."Our troops are not in any major Lebanese city," he said.
"Definitely not in Beirut. They have been out of Beirut for at least two years."You have 150,000 troops in Iraq and you can't stop acts of terrorism. We have 13,000 troops (in Lebanon)."
Moustapha said that if Lebanon's government -- the current one or the one to be elected in May -- asks Syrian forces to leave, "We will leave immediately. We will not blink an eye."
Reuters contributed to this report.
