Photo caption

SYRIA'S President Bashar Al-Assad concluded a landmark visit to Britain on Tuesday, the first by a Syrian president. Al-Assad, who held talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and met Queen Elizabeth II, was accompanied by his wife and a number of ministers.

While the visit shows a development in relations between Syria and Britain, it also reflected differences over the Iraqi issue and US plans to topple Saddam Hussein -- the matter that topped the visit agenda.

Following their talks, Blair referred to clear differences in "views and emphasis" over Iraq, but said a "process of engagement with Syria is the right way forward".

These differences were clear in Al-Assad's statements in which he warned against the devastating consequences of military action against Iraq. Al-Assad argued that a military campaign would set the Arab world back decades and sow the seeds for future acts of terrorism. "The gap is going to widen between the Arab world and the West. We will go back decades," Al-Assad told a seminar at London's Royal Institute of International Affairs.

In a blunt criticism of Western policies, Al-Assad also denied that Iraq's President Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the region and said most people believed Washington was confronting Baghdad because of oil -- not weapons of mass destruction.

British Foreign Office officials say the two countries do not pretend to agree on every issue, but Syria is important, they say, because it has considerable influence over Arab opinion and is also a neighbour of Iraq. With a war looming in Iraq and new peace efforts on the horizon in the Middle East, Syria's influential role in the Arab world could be pivotal to the success or failure of both, they said.

Syria is also the only Arab country which currently has a seat on the UN Security Council. Blair told the Financial Times that Syria's vote in favour of UN Resolution 1441 on disarming Iraq was a sign of the success of dialogue with President Al-Assad.

The British view is that Syria is changing under its new president, and is seeking to engage more closely with the West. There is now said to be increased consultation between Britain and Syria in the fight against Al-Qa'eda and international terrorism.

Al-Assad's visit to London was not without controversy. Even before the Syrian leader stepped off the plane, Israeli politicians had condemned his trip and British Jewish groups were reportedly upset by the presence of 'an Arab leader who stands accused of letting Palestinian extremists maintain offices in Damascus'.

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 19 - 25 December 2002 (Issue No. 617)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/617/re7.htm