Word: bashar
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...summit, Syrian President Bashar Assad demanded the scrapping of the Arab peace initiative, a seven-year-old Saudi plan that offers collective Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for the return of occupied territory and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Assad's call was intended to signal anger toward Israel, but it also served as a swipe at the Saudi architects of the initiative, with whom he is feuding...
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned Israel in a television interview that Israel's attack on Gaza is "sowing seeds of extremism" around the Arab world. His words may prove prophetic: yesterday an audio message purportedly from al-Qaeda's fugitive leader, Osama bin Laden, surfaced calling on Muslims to wage a holy war against Israel. With reporting by Jamil Hamad/Bethlehem and Aaron J. Klein/Jerusalem...
...remain hopeful that all influential states in the region - including Syria - will do their part to help end this violence and human tragedy," says a French official, referring to Sarkozy's appeal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to exert influence on Hamas when the two men met in Damascus on Tuesday. "We think Syria could greatly contribute to peace in the region in general terms but could also help end the current crisis, in particular by making Hamas see reason...
...visit to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas can help reverse Abbas' increasing marginalization and make him an active partner in hammering out a truce. But the main event of Sarkozy's peacemaking foray will more likely be in Damascus, where he will meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Tuesday. Sarkozy's recent rapprochement with Syria, the regional player with the most influence over Hamas, means that the French President may have more diplomatic leverage than many of his Western counterparts...
...known that the target was a secret nuclear reactor being built with North Korean assistance - a claim that was widely viewed through the prism of false U.S. claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and the Bush Administration's animus toward Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime over its support for Hizballah and Palestinian radical groups, as well as its failure to curb jihadist insurgents crossing into Iraq...