(State Department) State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday: "We have repeatedly and continuously said to the Syrians that they need to adjust to the new circumstances in the region, they need to take more responsibility in terms of supporting the aspirations of the Iraqi people to create a democratic, peaceful, and independent state; they need to support those aspirations by better protecting their borders, keeping foreign terrorists from crossing, returning money from the old regime to the Iraqi people, and in a variety of other ways. And so if Syria were to change its behavior on those points, we would be happy to see that." "If you do look back at the last few months, you've seen a number of statements from the Syrian leadership about wanting to pursue peace....We would certainly welcome any real willingness to move forward on peace with Israel and peace in the region, but again, made clear that it's hard to reconcile those kind of statements with the support for violent groups that are trying to kill the dreams of the Palestinians and undermine any hopes for peace....We want to see something from Syria other than the periodic statements."
2004-06-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive