December 3, 2007
A thaw in relations
It was a quick trip to Washington for two sit-down interviews this week. The first one-on-one was with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, currently envoy for the so-called "Quartet" for Middle East Peace.
We aired a little under four minutes of a 13-minute interview. We spoke of the chances for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, of course, but also about Tony Blair's very low popularity in the region. I asked him if he thought the fact that many in the Arab world disapproved of his involvement in the Iraq war and his unwillingness to call for a ceasefire in last year's Israel-Hezbollah war was something that would get in the way of acting as a mediator for a final Mideast agreement. Watch the interview here. While in Washington, I also spoke with the Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister, who this week attended the Annapolis conference near the U.S. capital. Until the last minute, it was unclear whether Syria would take part in the conference. There were reports Damascus was unhappy that the Golan, which has been occupied by Israel since the Six Day war, was not on the official agenda.
At the last minute, the Golan question was added, and Syria sent its number two diplomat. Many said that by not sending its top man, Syria was subtly snubbing the conference organizers. After all, crucial Mideast players, such as Saudi Arabia, sent Foreign Affairs ministers. Check out my interview with Fayssal Mekdad here. But what was interesting was the fact that the Syrians wanted to talk to the media at all. Simply put, officials in Syria almost never give gratuitous interviews. I've traveled many times to Syria and have been turned down for sit-down on camera interviews more times than I can count. This was clearly a sign that the government of Bashar Al-Assad, which is accused by the United States of supporting Hamas, being allied with Iran and interfering in Lebanese politics, wanted to send a message: We came to Annapolis and that is significant enough. And when Condoleezza Rice shook hands with members of the Syrian delegation in Annapolis, some analysts even starting speaking of a thaw between the two countries.
Not so fast. When I asked Fayssal Mekdad about the current stand-off in the Lebanese presidential election, the rift between Damascus and Washington surfaced again. The battle between the pro-Western government of Fouad Siniora and the pro-Syrian opposition parties has led some to fear that political chaos, and perhaps worse, will again engulf Lebanon. The United States accuses Syria of meddling in Lebanese politics and of supporting candidates it wants at the top. For the Deputy Foreign Minister, it's the other way around. "We hope that those who are asking others not to interfere in the internal affairs of Lebanon, in the process of electing a new president, will stop their interference in the internal affairs of Lebanon because this has led to problem," Mekdad said. I asked him who he was referring to. His answer was uncharacteristically specific: "I am referring to role being played by the U.S. and the interference by the U.S. ambassador every day that has in fact led to the Lebanese from electing their new president." A thaw, perhaps, but the accusations are still flying. -- From CNN Anchor and Reporter Hala Gorani 0 Comments
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