Downing Street Says » Middle East

Asked if we could now confirm that Sir Nigel Sheinwald had had talks with the Syrians and were they now willing to co-operate in the region, the PMOS replied that he was not going to speak for the Syrians. We had normal diplomatic relations with the Syrians, and Sir Nigel Sheinwald’s visit should be seen in that context. We also had always said that Syria had a choice, and we had made that argument to the Syrians in the past, and it was worth continuing to make that argument. It was a matter for Syria to choose how it responded and what it did, but it was a matter for them, and not for us to speculate.

Asked did we not get any indication of what choice Syria might make, the PMOS said that past experience suggested that it was better to wait for Syria to make that clear, rather than us making it clear on their behalf.

Asked what our view was about the Hezbollah leader Sheik Nasrallah talking to the Israelis about prisoner exchanges, the PMOS replied that again, it was for Hezbollah and Israel to talk directly about that issue. People were aware that the status quo really was not an option in the Middle East, and that we did need to try and move things forward, and if people thought about where we were last July, things had moved forward. There were a number of different issues which needed to be resolved if we were to move forward, and prisoners was only one of them. What was important was that we tried to get a dynamic going in the right direction in terms of the Middle East peace process as a whole. The Prime Minister, following his visit to Jerusalem, Ramallah and Beirut recently said that he would return to the region sometime later this year, and it was still his intention to do so. The importance that the Prime Minister placed on getting momentum going in the right direction in the Middle East was still there.

Asked if Sir Nigel Sheinwald’s visit was part of a concerted effort between the UK and the US to establish a new dialogue with Syria, the PMOS replied that as he had said yesterday, we kept our allies fully informed in terms of what we were doing across a range of issues. What the PMOS was not going to get into was the specifics of our conversations with the Americans, nor anyone else.

Asked if the Americans were aware of the visit, the PMOS said again that he was not going to get into the detail of any communications.

Asked if Lord Levy had gone with Sir Nigel, the PMOS said that he did not give a running commentary on Lord Levy’s travel plans.

Asked for further information about the trip to Syria, the PMOS said that it could be taken that Sir Nigel had met all relevant people in Syria, including the most relevant person. When pressed, the PMOS said that we all knew that Syria was a part of the reality on the ground in the Middle East, and therefore, it could play either a constructive or a destructive role. We obviously would hope that it would play a constructive role, but in the end, the Syrian Government would decide what it believed was in its interests. We believed that as with everyone else, it was in everybody’s interests in the Middle East if we did resolve the Palestinian issue, relations between Palestine and Israel and the other attendant outstanding issues in the Middle East. That, we believed, was the right way forward. Anything that advanced that, we believed, was in the interests of the region, and therefore, that was what the Prime Minister wanted to achieve, as he firmly believed that we had to move the Middle East peace process as a whole forward, because if that happened, then many of the underlying issues which caused problems elsewhere could start to be dealt with.

Put that we had not said whether we felt that at the end of the session in Syrian, there was a constructive or destructive role being occupied, the PMOS replied that in this sort of situation, any dialogue was a plus. However, what the PMOS did not want to pre-judge was what the considered response of the Syrian Government would be, as it was a matter for them to speak about.

Asked if we would try and steer people away from the idea that Sir Nigel had discussed Baker-style recommendations with Syria about Iraq, the PMOS said once again that the James Baker report had not yet been published. In terms of Syria, as we all knew, it had a particular role in relation to Lebanon and the overall situation in the Middle East, and therefore, that was where the emphasis should be placed.

Asked if there would be any representations made to the delegation of the Hamas government that was visiting London this week, the PMOS replied that our position on contact with Hamas remained that we did not have contact with them until Hamas recognised the free principles. The Prime Minister had set out the position in relation to any possible government of national unity in Palestine when we visited recently.

Asked if the idea of a ten-year ceasefire was a non-starter, the PMOS said that in terms of recognition of Israel, and in line with the position of the UN, our position was that there should be recognition of 3 principles.

Put by the Evening Standard that some people felt it irresistible to think that there was a hope to get out Iraq earlier by doing a kind of Baker-style plan to bring Syria around, the PMOS replied that that was not part of the thinking. We were very serious about trying to revitalise the Middle East peace process, and therefore, it was the right thing to do to talk to all those who had in some way an influence. It was for others to decide what part they played, but it was right to have dialogue, and that was what we were doing.

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» Wednesday, November 1, 2006

Middle East

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