International News
Feltman: Olmert's Talks with Assad Broke Syria's Isolation, Made U.S. Cut-Off
By Naharnet
Jan 20, 2010 - 8:42:25 AM

Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant Secretary of U.S. State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, has described as "modest at best" outcome of talks between U.S. and Syrian officials.

At an event introduced by Hudson Institute in Washington, Feltman admitted that dialogue with Syria is "tough," stressing that dialogue with Damascus will not be at Lebanon's expense.

He said talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Syrian President Bashar Assad have driven Damascus out its isolation and, "consequently, the United States, not Syria, seems to be isolated."

Feltman said Olmert's decision to engage in indirect negotiations with Syria has broken Syria's isolation.

"Then came the dramatic shift in the position of French President Nicolas Sarkozy when he declared his openness toward Syria and then came Saudi openness, which was particularly focused on Iraq," Feltman explained.

The former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon said the United States, which felt isolated in light of this regional and global trend, has decided to "try something else, dialogue."

"This, however, does not mean that we agree on Syria's policies or that we tell President Bashar al-Assad that we love his policies," he added, stressing that opening new lines of communications with Damascus "does not in any way mean that we have brushed aside our concerns over Syria's policies or that we have suddenly decided to abandon our Lebanese or Iraqi partners."

Feltman acknowledged that the "collapse of the global consensus" in the wake of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination and the unity of the Lebanese people which made the international community join their cause in driving Syrian forces from Lebanon "did not last long."

"Rather, it drove Syria out of its isolation," he thought.