US, Syria exchange assurances

SYRIA: The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, ended three hours of talks here on Saturday with the Syrian President, Dr Bashar al-Assad, saying they had discussed all outstanding issues but no major breakthroughs had been achieved.

Dr Assad promised to consider each issue raised by Mr Powell and deal with them through diplomacy. However, both sides did receive assurances sought from the other. Mr Powell was told by Dr Assad that Syria had begun closing local offices of 10 dissident Palestinian groups, starting with those of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front General Command. On threats of US military action against Syria from hawkish members of the Bush administration, Dr Assad was told by Mr Powell: "I am here to pursue diplomacy and mutual political efforts that both sides can be taking, so the issue of hostilities is not on the table . . . we will be following up in . . . diplomatic channels." He also said the US commitment to peacemaking would "include Syria and Lebanon" which demand the return of land occupied by Israel in 1967.

Mr Powell responded by saying: "They did some closures." But a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, Mr Ziad Naghalah, said on Saturday night his organisation had not been contacted by the government. A senior Hamas figure in Gaza, Dr Abdel Aziz Rantisi, said it does not matter if these offices are shut down because they have no role in the resistance campaign in the occupied territories. Syria has always argued that these Palestinian offices are media outlets rather than external command and logistical bases, as Washington claims.

Dr George Jabbour, a former adviser to Dr Assad's late father, said the talks "were not as bad as we feared". Instead of simply issuing demands backed up by the threat of force, he said, Mr Powell "showed a certain respect for Syria and promised to address Syria's call for the return of the Golan within the context of the road map" drawn up to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli dispute.

Mr Powell is expected to return to the region at the end of the week to hold talks with the new Palestinian Prime Minister, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli Premier, Mr Ariel Sharon.