Feltman: US, EU observers to monitor Lebanon vote
“No decision” yet on US Ambassador to Damascus
US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said Sunday that US and European observers will monitor upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7, only after receiving a request from Lebanon. Feltman said after a meeting with Elias Aude, Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church in Beirut, that the US and Europe are willing to observe the process, including the conduct of the poll, "only after receiving approval of the Lebanese."
Feltman, accompanied by top Middle East officer at the US National Security Council Daniel Shapiro, held a series of meetings on Sunday with Lebanese officials as well as religious leaders, including Lebanese Forces boss Samir Geagea, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani and vice-president of the Higher Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel Amir Qabalan.
Qabalan called on the US administration to maintain contacts with Speaker Nabih Berri and to "open communication channels with Hizbullah and Hamas."
For his part, Qabbani stressed the need "for a collective effort in Lebanon to help maintain stability and avoid being driven to civil strife."
"We are careful not to allow Lebanon to be dragged into regional conflicts that can only bring harm to all," the cleric told Feltman.
The two US envoys had been shuttling back and forth between Beirut and Damascus.
They were back in Beirut on Sunday following talks in Damascus in the first high-level meeting in four years.
Feltman, a former ambassador to Lebanon, told reporters in Beirut on Sunday that Washington has not yet taken a decision about returning its ambassador to Syria.
"There is no decision made regarding an ambassador in Damascus," he said.
Washington recalled its ambassador to Damascus following the February 2005 assassination of Lebanon”s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, widely blamed on Syria, but maintains an embassy in the Syrian capital. Damascus has denied any involvement in Hariri”s killing, but withdrew its troops from Lebanon two months later, ending almost three decades of domination.
On Saturday Feltman and Shapiro held four hours of talks with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and other officials.
"What we did yesterday is give the Syrians the opportunity to raise their vision about the bilateral relationship, their concerns, and we were able to do the same," Feltman said Sunday.
"Talking to people is not a reward. We talk to people in order to solve a problem," he added.
He also sought to ease Lebanese concerns about a US-Syria rapprochement saying: "There is no contradiction between a strong support to Lebanon and an attempt to solve a problem through dialogue with Syria."
On Saturday, Feltman emerged from the talks with Moallem saying Syria can be a "constructive" Mideast force.
Feltman said he and Shapiro held the "view that Syria can play an important and constructive role in the region," in a conference call with reporters in Washington after with Moallem and other Syrian officials.
"We found a lot of common ground today," Feltman said without elaborating.
He said the talks were "consistent with the message" from President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who "have stated the desire to use engagement with all countries in the region in order to address issues of mutual concern."
Syrian state news agency SANA said the two sides had agreed on the "importance of pursuing bilateral dialogue to achieve objectives that serve the common interests of both countries." In particular, it pointed to "achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East."
Speaking in Beirut on Friday, Feltman had told reporters "we”ll talk to the Syrians about many many issues but about Lebanon, the message is clear: the US and the international community … all agree Lebanon is for the Lebanese."
US-Syrian ties were especially tense under former president George W. Bush, who accused Damascus of supporting terrorism and of turning a blind eye to the flow of arms and supplies to insurgents in Iraq.
Last month, several US lawmakers, including Senate foreign relations committee chairman John Kerry, visited Damascus for talks with President Bashar Assad. The Syrian leader has repeatedly called for a dialogue with Washington, describing it as a key referee in Middle East peace talks.
Feltman sought to defuse tensions when asked how active Damascus remained in supporting what Washington has called terrorist groups.
"We have got concerns with Syria. I”m sure Syria has concerns with us. Today was an opportunity to start to raise some of these concerns with each other directly in addition to the dialogue that takes place already between our embassies."
Syria is on a US blacklist for allegedly supporting terrorism because it hosts the leadership of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas and supports Lebanon”s Hizbullah, both at war with key US ally Israel.
"My job today was not finger-pointing per se," Feltman said in Damascus. "My job today was to discuss a whole variety of bilateral, regional, international issues where we do have differences. In some cases we have overlapping interests."
Arguing that engagement was a way to start bridging differences, he said opportunities for further opportunities will be sought in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Feltman called for patience when asked about indirect Turkish-brokered peace talks between Syria and Israel last year that were suspended during Israel”s recent war on Hamas in Gaza.
"The United States wants a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace," he said.
"There will be a Syrian-Israel track at some point," he said, adding that "at this point, though, we need to be a bit patient" as Israel works on forming a new government after elections last month.
He said leading Middle East envoy George Mitchell was focusing for now on the Palestinian-Israeli track of the negotiations, but "his mandate does include comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace."
"So we do want to see forward momentum on the Syrian-Israeli track at the time when the parties are ready … for this."