22 April 2010

Reports of Syrian Arms Transfers to Hizballah Raise Concerns

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke to reporters April 22 in Tallinn, Estonia.

By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the United States is concerned by reports that suggest Syria is transferring arms to the Iranian-backed Hizballah militia group in Lebanon. She also said the return of a U.S. ambassador to Damascus would improve communication between Syria and the United States.

Speaking to reporters in Tallinn, Estonia, April 22, ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Clinton said the United States has expressed “in the strongest terms possible” to the Syrian government concerns about stories that “there has been some transfer of weapons technology into Syria with the potential purpose of then later transferring it to Hizballah inside Lebanon.”

At the same time, the proposed U.S. Senate confirmation of Robert Ford as U.S. ambassador to Syria should not be seen as “some kind of reward” to Syria, she said. Ford’s nomination has been approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is awaiting action by the full Senate.

The United States intends to continue pushing its concerns with the Syrian government on issues such as the Middle East conflict and Syria’s role in Lebanon. “We think having an ambassador there adds to the ability to convey that message strongly, and hopefully, influence behavior in Syria,” the secretary said.

The State Department issued an April 19 statement condemning the transfer of any arms from Syria to Hizballah, particularly SCUD ballistic missiles, saying such transfers could destabilize the region by posing threats both to Israel’s security and Lebanon’s sovereignty.

The statement said all states are obliged under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 “to prevent the importation of any weapons into Lebanon except as authorized by the Lebanese Government,” and said Syria’s designation by the United States as a state sponsor of terrorism is “directly related to its support for terrorist groups,” including Hizballah.

The statement said Syria’s deputy chief of mission in Washington, Zouheir Jabbour, had been summoned to the State Department April 19 “to review Syria’s provocative behavior concerning the potential transfer of arms,” the fourth occasion in recent months when U.S. officials have raised these concerns with Syria.

In his April 21 testimony before the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman cited conversations he and other U.S. officials had with Syrian Ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha on February 26, March 1 and March 10 expressing concern over “information we had that Syria was passing increasingly sophisticated ballistic weapons to Hizballah.”

He described the reports as “a serious allegation.” If they are proven to be accurate, “Syria has made a mistake,” he said.

“But the trouble is, it’s not just Syria that pays for the consequences of Syria’s mistakes when we’re talking about this volatile region,” Feltman said.

The assistant secretary argued that while Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is in constant contact with Iran and groups such as Hizballah and Hamas, “he needs to be able to hear from us directly and continually as well,” and urged Ford’s confirmation as ambassador.

“When President Assad is taking decisions that could affect war and peace in his region, he needs to have a clear understanding of what the implications are, what the U.S. positions are, what the red lines are,” Feltman said.

Feltman identified areas where Syria and the United States can work together, welcoming Syria’s efforts to shut down some of the pipelines previously used by foreign fighters to enter Iraq, as well as its hosting of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees who receive health care and education from the Syrian government.

He pointed out that, unlike Iran, Syria has repeatedly stated that a comprehensive peace in the Middle East is in its interests and has pursued several rounds of negotiations with Israel.

U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell has been working on bridging the gap between Israel and Syria to get a new round of talks started, Feltman said.

“We have differences in how they want to start, but both sides do want to start,” he said.

Syria’s actions “fall far short of its words in favor of peace in the region and [a] stable and prosperous Iraq,” Feltman said.

“Our job is to show them that it’s in their interest to have the words that they say about living in peace in the region matched by their actions,” he said.

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)