A Syrian cure to Mideast travails

The much-loathed US-embargo on Syria is weakening, thanks to joint efforts of Washington and Damascus in acting in good faith since the inauguration of US President Barack Obama in January. The initiatives started when Syrian President Bashar Al Assad sent Obama a congratulatory letter on his inauguration, promising cooperation on a basket of Middle East issues, mainly regional peace.

This offer was followed by two back-to-back speeches by the Syrian leader, on BBC and at the Doha Summit over Gaza, stressing that Syria was ready for peace and wanted to cooperate with Obama, for the sake of restoring the occupied Golan Heights to their rightful owners. Al Assad has said he hopes the new US leader will be different from his predecessor.

Last week, the US approved the rehabilitation of two Boeing 747 airplanes on the Syrian fleet, turning a blind eye to the Syria Accountability Act, which prohibits American government and companies from doing business with Syria. The Syrians broke the news, adding through several Syrian websites, that "sources" in the US had confirmed that Obama was reviewing the law.

The Syrians realise that lifting the sanctions at once will be difficult, since it takes time to do away with provisions after they become embedded in US law. The sanctions on Syria are picked from a menu, however, and what can be done is establish a "de-ticking" process in which they are lifted on a gradual basis, in anticipation of removing them altogether.

Another welcome step for the Syrians would be the removal of Syria from the state sponsors of terrorism list. That would be easier, since this does not need Congress, and is related to the State Department. Sending a new ambassador to Damascus is also a must, filling a post that has been vacant since 2005.

In January, a team from the Congress-funded US Institute of Peace (USIP) visited Syria and met Al Assad. It included Ellen Laipson, a former adviser under Bill Clinton and a member of the Obama team, and Bruce Jentleson, an adviser to ex-vice-president Al Gore, who described the meeting in the following words: "His phrasing [Al Assad's] was 70 per cent of our interests are potentially shared and 30 per cent are not. And he said: let's work on the 70 per cent." Shortly afterwards, a senior Congressional delegation landed in Damascus, headed by Adam Smith, a Democratic member of the House Foreign Relations Committee. In a significant remark before leaving Syria, he expressed America's willingness to turn a new leaf in relations with Syria.

Former president Jimmy Carter is expected in Damascus in the next two months for his third visit in one year, and is to be followed by Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell, after the forthcoming Israeli elections. Another senior delegation is expected on February 17, followed by a high profile visit by Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Clearly, the Americans are seeking solutions to the Middle East crisis through Syria. After many years of deliberate neglect under George W. Bush, the Americans realise that if they want solutions to Hezbollah, Hamas, or Iraq, they need Syria's help. That doesn't come without a price as the Syrians have always said and that price would include: removing sanctions imposed on Syria by Bush, starting a dialogue with Damascus, hearing out Syrian worries, and giving Syrians the Golan Heights.

Smaller gestures would be finding a solution to the issue of 1.5 million Iraqis in Syria, and ending the media war against Syria in the Western press, spearheaded previously by the US.

Renewed peace talks are a must, but they cannot be bilateral, either direct or indirect, between Syria and Israel, after what happened in Gaza. The Syrians are waiting to hear of a comprehensive peace plan from the US leader, or as some are putting it, a continuation of the Madrid dialogue, chaired by Obama. They also think that any mention of Syria's relationship with Iran, Hamas or Hezbollah cannot be a pre-condition for peace talks.

Syrians want to be seen as problem-solvers rather than problem-seekers. They want to show the world - mainly the US - that just as they can deliver on Palestine, they can deliver in Iraq and Lebanon. Former US secretary of state Warren Christopher wrote in The Washington Post about his encounter with Syria in the 1990s and how the country influenced the leaders of Hezbollah to stop the conflicts with Israel in 1993 and 1996. He said: "We never knew exactly what the Syrians did, but clearly Hezbollah responded to their direction."

The Syrians can still "do things" in the Middle East and Obama seems to understand that well, and is learning fast from the mistakes of his predecessor.

Sami Moubayed is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine.