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Syria should not trust Israel
In an interview with The Washington Times, published last week, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Sallai Meridor ascertained the key objective that induced Israeli leaders to resume peace talks with Syria.
- By Marwan Kabalan, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 00:18 September 19, 2008
- Image Credit: Nino Jose Heredia/Gulf News
In an interview with The Washington Times, published last week, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Sallai Meridor ascertained the key objective that induced Israeli leaders to resume peace talks with Syria.
"By far, the first reason to engage with the Syrians is to explore whether there is a chance for a strategic U-turn, and to have them separated from their special relationship with Iran", the ambassador was quoted as saying in the right-wing American newspaper,
Meridor has, in fact, revealed no secret. Syrians have always suspected that the Israelis were not interested in peace per se, but in breaking up their alliance with Iran. This explains Syria's cautious attitude during the Istanbul peace negotiations and its rejection to engage the Israelis in direct talks.
It is also believed that France's open attitude towards Syria meant to reach the same conclusion. French President Nicolas Sarkozy's recent visit to Damascus sought to explore possibilities of weaning Syria away from Iran, as a first step towards dealing with the latter's nuclear programme. As a close ally of Israel, Sarkozy may have been trying to supplement the Jewish state's efforts by providing incentives to convince the Syrians to distance themselves from Tehran.
It is worth mentioning that Sarkozy, who ordered a freeze on all contacts with Syria in late 2007, phoned Syrian President Bashar Al Assad last May to welcome the renewal of peace talks with Israel and to invite him to a summit of Mediterranean countries in Paris in July. Sarkozy then paid an important visit to Damascus; wherein peace talks were top on his agenda.
Regional policy
Following these developments, analysts have been looking for any sign of change in Syrian regional policy. Recently, Damascus seems to be doing a lot of things differently: talking to Europe, helping the Lebanese parties to solve their differences, talking to the Israelis, and generally emphasising the pragmatic aspect of its foreign policy.
When Al Assad was in Paris last July, he offered to help resolve inter-Palestinian differences. He then gave a warm welcome to President Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestinian Authority in Damascus.
Syria is said to be advising Palestinian groups, including Hamas, to soften their positions on a number of issues as a first step towards national reconciliation. Damascus distanced itself also from turbulence in Iraq and has appointed an ambassador to Baghdad for the first time since 1980.
Analysts predicted that all of this is bound to affect Syrian-Iranian relations, as well as the way Tehran is doing business in the region. Without Syria's support, the Iranians will not be able to win influence in Lebanon and Palestine and the legitimacy of their involvement in Iraq will be called into question.
Inside and outside the region, there is much speculation that Syria is about to ditch its alliance with Iran. Last July, a Kuwaiti newspaper quoted a senior Syrian official, known for his close ties with the Syrian foreign ministry, as saying that Syria "is willing to break free from the Iranians as soon as it gets what it wants.
The alliance between Damascus and Tehran can change if peace is achieved with Israel". The official added: "If the region heads towards peace, other side issues can be tackled as well".
Over the past few months, Europe has been trying to find an alternative political course that would wean Damascus away from its Iranian connection. Yet, Europeans "have no illusions", as Sarkozy put it during his visit to Damascus. All they "want is to weaken the existing alliance between the two countries and replace it with normal relations".
Syria is in no hurry to do that anyway. It has been so far reluctant to give any sign, signalling a shift in its relation with Iran, fearing that its demands (i.e. recovering the Golan Heights) will be ignored if its alliance with Tehran is broken too soon. Given past experiences, including the Madrid peace conference, Syria must have learnt that one should not pay in advance, particularly when dealing with the Israelis.
Dr Marwan Kabalan is a lecturer in media and international relations, Faculty of Political Science and Media, Damascus University, Syria.
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