Envoy: US Ends Most Diplomatic Ties With Syria -Report
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. has cut off nearly all diplomatic
ties with Syria and is hoping to create another crisis in the Middle
East, the Syrian ambassador to the U.S. claims, the Boston Globe
reported on its Web site Tuesday.
"What we see in general is an (U.S.) administration that is
categorically refusing to engage with Syria on any level," Imad
Moustapha, the Syrian envoy, was quoted by the Globe as saying.
"We see an administration that would really love to see another
crisis in the Middle East, this time targeting Syria," Moustapha
added.
The last high-level meeting between the two countries took place in
January, and the U.S. has ended discussions with Syria on banking
laws designed to block terror financing, limited military contacts
regarding the Syrian-Iraqi border, and declined a Syrian proposal to
revive intelligence cooperation, according to Moustapha and an
unidentified U.S. official, the newspaper reported.
In addition, the newspaper reported Lawrence Wilkerson, the ex-chief
of staff to former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, as saying
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at some unspecified point
advocated precision military strikes at "known terrorist" sites
inside Syria.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
No comments:
Post a Comment