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Last update - 04:43 29/04/2009
Jimmy Carter: U.S. and Syria to restore full diplomatic ties soon
By News Agencies
Tags: jimmy carter, israel news 

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Tuesday said that the United States and Syria are close to restoring full diplomatic ties.

"Syrian President Bashar Assad is very eager to restore full ties with Washington," Carter said. "I wouldn't be surprised if it happens this year," Carter said in a telephone interview from Quito, Ecuador, at the start of a four-nation South American trip.

He plans to meet Assad in Syria in early June after attending elections in Lebanon.
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The United States withdrew its ambassador to Syria in 2005 after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which was widely blamed on Syria - a claim Damascus denies. Washington has long objected to Syria's support for the Hezbollah and Hamas militant groups as well as its alliance with Iran.

Syria has recently expressed openness to indirect peace talks with Israel as long as they focus on a complete withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Meanwhile, Assad on Tuesday said that U.S. President Barack Obama would face a serious crisis in the Middle East if within a year he did not fix the mistakes made by his predecessor George W. Bush.

Speaking in Vienna with Austrian leaders and intellectuals near the end of his two-day visit, Assad called on the United States to quickly withdraw its troops from Iraq, which would resolve "50 per cent of the problem," Austrian press agency APA reported.

Earlier Tuesday, Austrian leaders urged Assad to use Syria's influence to stabilize the wider Middle East region.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer said that Syria should get Tehran to respond constructively to resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and proposals from the international community for resolving the nuclear standoff with Iran.

Assad said in the evening discussion that Syria could not play a role in the nuclear issue, though it would help to solve it.

Echoing Tehran's position, Assad called on the Security Council to refer the matter of Iran's nuclear intentions back to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has a more technical outlook.

Assad met with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, who urged Damascus to get Palestinian militants to work toward peace with Israel and to curb their terrorist activities, his spokesman, Thomas Zehetner, told German Press Agency DPA.

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      1.   Jimmy Carter;peanut farmer; am I still paying for your 05:30  |  glenna 29/04/09
      2.   the Black Hole 05:36  |  Eddie Harris 29/04/09
      3.   Assad threatens Obama 06:42  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 29/04/09
      4.   Americans should so appreciate Jimmy Carter... 06:48  |  BBSNews 29/04/09
      5.   "50 per cent of the problems" 06:50  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 29/04/09
      6.   "echoing Teheran`s position" 06:56  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 29/04/09
      7.   #6 CJK I don`t understand your post. 07:10  |  Lou Medel 29/04/09
      8.   IMPORTANT LINK TO ACHIEVE PEACE 07:30  |  indrajaya 29/04/09
      9.   The Syria-Iran axis 07:41  |  Jean Van Daem 29/04/09
      10.   Pres.Assad, an accomplished diplomat. 10:01  |  Stephen. 29/04/09
      11.   #4 -Appreciate Carter 10:05  |  Joshua 29/04/09
      12.   Bravo! Carter is America`s chief diplomat emeritus. 10:34  |  Ivar 29/04/09
      13.   #7, Stephen 11:06  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 29/04/09
      14.   Good move for USA 11:34  |  Natallie Durson 29/04/09
      15.   # 8 Joshua - Are you in kindergarten? 11:51  |  Natallie Durson 29/04/09
      16.   How polite of Assad!!! 11:53  |  S 29/04/09
      17.   WE OWE CARTER ONE 11:58  |  indrajaya 29/04/09
      18.   The freelancer 13:20  |  Michael 29/04/09
      19.   carter 14:34  |  oz 29/04/09
      20.   now again 14:42  |  udi 29/04/09
      21.   BBSNews 14:47  |  American in NY 29/04/09
      22.   Way to go Jimmy. 14:49  |  Razi 29/04/09
      23.   It`s Russia the U.S. should be dealing with,Israel knows that 14:52  |  Susanna/Shoshana 29/04/09
      24.   BBS bull 14:54  |  petra 29/04/09
      25.   # 9 Oz right on!!! He`s a traitor to both America and to Israel. 14:56  |  petra 29/04/09
      26.   who knew jimmy carter had diplomatic ties with the u.s. 15:02  |  wendy 29/04/09
      27.   jimmy carter 15:04  |  herman 29/04/09
      28.   Isn`t carter the Prez who said he saw a UFO sighting 15:07  |  Susanna/Shoshana 29/04/09
      29.   How stupid of S # 10 What does 9/11 have to do with assad or Syri 15:58  |  American in NY 29/04/09
      30.   Cipora # 6 the echo is between your ears. 16:13  |  American in NY 29/04/09
      31.   During Carter presidency, Iran hostages 16:28  |  Hasan 29/04/09
      32.   Petra 16:29  |  Persian Kitty 29/04/09
      33.   Dictatorships must go 16:40  |  Great White Norht 29/04/09
      34.   #1 Yoo hoo, glenna. 16:57  |  Lou Medel 29/04/09
      35.   Medel: "genius" 17:39  |  Christopher 29/04/09
      36.   Hasan 17:52  |  Persian Kitty 29/04/09
      37.   Christopher, please leave the United States... 18:04  |  BBSNews 29/04/09
      38.   Joshua, Hezbollah protects Lebanon from Israel... 18:13  |  BBSNews 29/04/09
      39.   " 14 Michael--bit like peres the freelancer--huh. 18:34  |  Labhras 29/04/09
      40.   US and Syria 18:38  |  Good Sense 29/04/09
      41.   BBS and "loyalty 19:00  |  Christopher 29/04/09
      42.   Any talk of peace --the wingnuts are "up in Arms" 19:01  |  Labhras 29/04/09
      43.   #24 - Susanna/Shoshana - UFO Header 19:03  |  Daniel 29/04/09
      44.   #29 - Great White `North` 19:09  |  Daniel 29/04/09
      45.   Carter Remains the Most Respected US President in Recent Times. 20:23  |  Monitor 29/04/09
      46.   Monitor #43 23:40  |  Brod 29/04/09
      47.   #39 Christopher--if you are a Catholic--best go back to school 00:09  |  Labhras 30/04/09
      48.   Having campaigned for Carter during his first 01:29  |  ks 30/04/09
      49.   Jimmy carter, the worst president both the left& Right agrees the 01:37  |  ks 30/04/09
      50.   Christopher in Boston re your Post to BBS 06:30  |  Persian Kitty 30/04/09
      51.   persian kitty 19:45  |  American in NY 30/04/09
      52.   Yoo Hoo;Lou,Lou:read 49`s comment! 09:11  |  glenna 18/05/09
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