{"id":488,"date":"2007-11-22T14:42:44","date_gmt":"2007-11-22T14:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=488"},"modified":"2007-11-22T19:24:47","modified_gmt":"2007-11-22T19:24:47","slug":"syria-will-not-attend-annapolis-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/syria-will-not-attend-annapolis-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Syria Will Not Attend Annapolis Conference, Unless…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ibrahim Hamidi reports that Syria will not go to Annapolis because the Golan is not on the official agenda. [addendum<\/strong>: Helena Cobban says: "Read the original<\/a> which says, 'Syria will not go unless<\/u> there is a surprise…] Hamidi is one of the most reliable journalists in Syria. He usually gets the story first.  <\/p>\n

Many will ask why Syria does not say yes to Annapolis even if the Golan is not explicitly on the agenda. I think the best answer is that President Bashar has said from the beginning that Golan must be on the agenda and that Syria must get a proper invitation. Neither condition was fulfilled. The State Department has given vague assurances that there will be a follow up conference that will discuss broader issues, including the Golan. Syria's invitation has come at the last minute and begrudgingly. <\/p>\n

More importantly, however, Damascus is being asked to concede to America's strategy in Palestine and the region without getting any firm commitment that its own interests will be accommodated.<\/p>\n

By going to Annapolis, Syria will be abandoning its ally Hamas and agreeing to fall in line with Washington's and Israel's strategy of starving Hamas-stan and fattening up the West Bank. Syria would also be expected to lean on its allies in Lebanon in order to further Washington's candidate for a President in Beirut. Without a firm commitment form the US that Syria will be on the road to getting back the Golan, it cannot make these concessions. <\/p>\n

Washington is so divided right now that the only promise Syria can take to the bank is one made by President Bush himself. It is clear that Bush does not like Syria and does not understand or sympathise with its interests. Perhaps Damascus is wise to sit out this round of "peacemaking."<\/div>\n
Here is Hamidi's article.<\/div>\n
.<\/div>\n
Syria has decided not to attend Annapolis peace conference
<\/strong>Ibrahim Hamidi<\/div>\n
Nov. 22, 2007, al-Hayat<\/div>\n
The London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat reported Thursday that Syria has already decided not to attend the upcoming U.S-sponsored Middle East peace conference to be held in Annapolis, Maryland next week.<\/p>\n

"Syria has decided not to attend the Annapolis conference next week, because the issue of the Golan Heights is not mentioned on the agenda of the meeting," Army Radio quoted the Arabic-language publication as saying. <\/p>\n

According to the report, Syria is waiting for the outcome of a meeting of Arab foreign ministers, to be held in Cairo on Thursday, before officially announcing its intention not to attend next week's summit. <\/p>\n

Syria has declared in the past it would only take part in the peace conference if the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from it in the 1967 Six-Day War, is on the agenda. <\/p>\n

Syria received an official invitation to the summit on Wednesday. Charge d'Affaires Michael Corbin, the highest ranking U.S. diplomat stationed in Damascus, delivered the invitation letter to the foreign ministry's chief of protocol, the diplomats in the Syrian capital told reporters.<\/p>\n

"The Syrians are getting what they want even if the Golan is not explicitly mentioned. The letter talks about United Nations resolutions and the Arab peace initiative, which Syria supports" one of the diplomats said.<\/p>\n

"There will even be a session in the conference on comprehensive Middle East peace. Syria will be seen as deliberately trying to spoil Annapolis if it does not show up," the diplomat said.<\/p>\n

The Arab peace initiative calls for Israeli withdrawal from all Arab land, including the Golan Heights. Peace talks between Syria and Israel, centered on normal ties in return for the Golan, collapsed in 2000.<\/p>\n

Syria is under pressure from Russia and pro-U.S. Arab governments to attend the conference. Even Israel said it was in favor of Syria taking part and Jordan's King Abdullah paid a rare visit to Damascus this week to convince Syrian President Bashar Assad to send a delegation.<\/p>\n

"Annapolis will not achieve its goals without Syria," Syrian journalist Ziad Haidar wrote in al-Watan, Syria's only privately owned daily. "Syria is being asked to throw its weight around. The attempts to isolate it have backfired." <\/p><\/div>\n

 .<\/div>\n
Addendum<\/strong> Nov. 22 2007<\/div>\n
Syria Softening Refusal on Conference<\/a>
By ZEINA KARAM – 3 hours ago<\/span>
AP: Nov. 22, 2007<\/div>\n
\n
\n

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria is softening its refusal to attend the Annapolis peace conference and already has won dividends, including a visit from Jordan's king that marked an end to regional isolation.<\/p>\n

But as it bends, it risks alienating Palestinian militants and its ally Iran.<\/p>\n

Syria was unlikely to announce a final decision on whether it will go to the conference until after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers to be held in Cairo on Friday to map out a joint strategy.<\/p>\n

Publicly, Syrian officials have said Syria would not go unless its demands for the return of the Golan Heights, seized by Israel in 1967, are addressed.<\/p>\n

State-run newspapers, which reflect government thinking, continued Wednesday to criticize the conference, calling it "suspicious."<\/p>\n

But intense diplomatic activity toward Damascus and comments made by President Bashar Assad this week suggest that possible deals to secure Syrian attendance might be worked out behind the scenes. On Monday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he believed Syria's foreign minister would attend.<\/p>\n

At a meeting of Syria's leadership Monday, Assad said the region is witnessing events that "could have grave impact on the future of the countries and peoples if they are not dealt with in a rational way." His words were taken to mean the peace conference in the U.S.<\/p>\n

And the United States seems to have met some of Syria's demands to prod Damascus into going to Annapolis. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday the United States will give room for those other conflicts to be aired at Annapolis, including Syria's dispute with Israel over the Golan.<\/p>\n

Despite sour relations between the U.S. and Syria, the Bush administration appears keen on a Syrian presence at Monday's conference in Annapolis, which would give the impression that Syria can be lured out of Iran's orbit and into the Arab fold. Syria, which the United States accuses of being a state sponsor of terror, is an archenemy of Israel and supports radical anti-Israel Palestinian factions.<\/p>\n

"They want to show everyone that Syria can be tamed, taken away from the Iranian axis," said Ahmad Haj Ali, a political analyst and member of Syria's ruling Baath party.<\/p>\n

"If Syria goes, it would have achieved what the others want without achieving anything for itself. The price will be extremely high," he said.<\/p>\n

Syrian lawmaker Mohammed Habash said Syria was keeping its options open, but said Syria is not interested in going to Annapolis "to attend a carnival."<\/p>\n

Habash said Syria is the "spinal cord" of a front that includes Iran, the "resistance" in Iraq, Hezbollah and Hamas. "If Syria goes to such a conference, it will naturally shake this alliance. So do not think for one second that Syria would go just to get a piece of chocolate over there," he said. "It would be political folly."<\/p>\n

Hamas, whose leadership is based in Damascus, has dismissed the conference as lacking seriousness and only aiming at covering up a future American attack against Iran.<\/p>\n

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday called the conference "stillborn" and predicted it would not bring any benefits to the Palestinians.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

'Syria coordinated absence from Annapolis with Iran'<\/a> Ynetnews<\/div>\n
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Ibrahim Hamidi reports that Syria will not go to Annapolis because the Golan is not on the official agenda. [addendum: Helena Cobban says: "Read the original which says, 'Syria will not go unless there is a surprise…] Hamidi is one of the most reliable journalists in Syria. 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