Powell to sound out Syria

Powell to sound out Syria

By Roger Hardy BBC Middle East analyst

America's charge-sheet against Syria seems to grow by the day

US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said he expects to visit Syria for what he called "very candid" discussions.

His remarks come amid a war of words between Washington and Damascus over Syria's alleged support for terrorism and for the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq.

Although no date for the visit has been fixed, Mr Powell said his trip would also seek to push forward peace-making efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.

If the visit goes ahead and Colin Powell sits down with his Syrian counterpart Farouq Sharaa, the two men will have plenty to talk about.

The American charge-sheet against Syria seems to grow by the day.

It includes the development of chemical weapons, close links with the Lebanese group Hezbollah - which the US regards as a terrorist organisation - and providing military and other assistance to the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq.

Confidence-building

The Americans allege Syria has provided safe haven for senior Iraqi officials - including the top intelligence officer Farouq Hijazi - whom they see as a possible link between Iraq and Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

All this the Syrians deny - with the exception of links to Hezbollah, which they regard as a legitimate resistance movement.

Syrian officials will be hoping Mr Powell's visit will help to defuse the very considerable tension between the two countries.

They have listened carefully to his assurance that America has no plans for a military attack on Syria.

They will also want to hear more from him about how he is proposing to revive the Middle East peace process.

Syria hopes Powell's visit will defuse tension between the two countries

The secretary of state pledged on Wednesday that both he and President Bush would become much more active on this front. It is expected that what is known as the Middle East "roadmap" - produced by the US, the UN, the European Union and Russia - will be published fairly soon.

While the plan requires the Palestinians to end suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis, there are reports Washington is pressing Israel to pull back its forces from Palestinian towns and ease restrictions on Palestinian travel.

The US hopes confidence-building measures by both sides will re-establish a small but much-needed degree of trust.