No decision yet on ambassador to Syria: US envoy
Washington has not yet taken a decision about returning its ambassador to Syria, a senior US envoy said in Lebanon on Sunday a day after visiting Damascus to mend ties.
"There is no decision made regarding an ambassador in Damascus," Jeffrey Feltman, a former ambassador to Lebanon and now acting secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, told reporters in Beirut.
Feltman and Daniel Shapiro on Saturday made the first high-profile visit to Syria in four years by top US envoys, amid Washington”s declared intention to engage with all regional countries, even long-time foes.
Washington recalled its ambassador to Damascus following the February 2005 assassination of Lebanon”s ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, widely blamed on Syria, but maintain 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 Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem 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 in Beirut.
"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 Muallem saying Syria can be a "constructive" Middle East force.
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.
The United States has been also wary of Syrian support for Iran and for Lebanon”s Shiite militant Hezbollah movement, which is a key member of the country”s political opposition.
Washington considers Hezbollah a terrorist group and on Friday State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said the United States "is not ready" to follow Britain in opening contact with the group”s political wing.
Feltman reiterated this view. "Our policy on Hezbollah has not changed. We do not see a distinction between a political wing and a military wing or a civil wing. It is all one organisation," he said.