Word: damascus
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Most Arab governments blame Syria for the political impasse in Lebanon, using its Lebanese allies to block the election of a new head of state, and the Cairo meeting is expected to call on Damascus to wield its influence to end the crisis...
...will continue to be viewed as a nation that is thwarting the will of the Lebanese people." Bush's comments, coming days after he said that his "patience had run out" with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has further dampened speculation of a U.S. re-engagement with Syria following Damascus's invitation to the Annapolis peace summit in November...
...Crucially, Syria also has lost, for now, a potential friend on the other side of the Atlantic. French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced last week that Paris was severing contacts with Damascus until Syria facilitates an election in Lebanon. Sarkozy's ultimatum effectively ended an intense bout of diplomatic mediation in December, when senior French envoys shuttled between Paris, Beirut and Damascus to attempt a compromise deal between feuding Lebanese factions. Although the U.S. is recognized as the most powerful broker in the Middle East, France's historical ties to Lebanon and Syria grant it considerable influence in those two countries...
...This latest Lebanese assassination may have ramifications further afield, given the heightened speculation of a thaw in relations between the U.S. and Syria since Damascus participated in the Annapolis peace summit two weeks ago. An international coalition headed by the U.S. and France is heavily engaged in mediating an agreement over the presidency. France has been particularly active, with Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner spending much of the past three weeks in Beirut shuttling between bickering Lebanese politicians while other French officials have consulted the Syrian leadership. In reaction to the bomb attack, a clearly exasperated Kouchner said...
...Anti-Syrian politicians, however, were quick to blame Damascus, accusing the Syrian regime of seeking to cause instability in Lebanon. "I point an accusing finger directly at the Syrian regime as the scheme has been carried out since three years until today with no one to deter this regime," said Antoine Andraous, a member of the March 14 bloc...