05 April 2007
The speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has said that she had handed Syria's president Bashar al-Assad a message of peace from Israel. Pelosi's talks with Assad in Damascus were met by strong objections from US president George W. Bush, who wants to isolate the Syrian regime and considers Damascus a "state sponsor of terrorism." Pelosi, a Democrat, told reporters that she was "determined that the road to Damascus would be the path to peace." She conveyed a message from Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who told her earlier this week that his country was ready to engage in peace talks. Whilst Pelosi said Assad had given her assurances of his willingness to participate, Olmert's office issued a clarifying statement that this would only be possible if Syria abandoned terror and stopped assisting terrorist groups.
Despite Bush's opposition, some Republican members of Congress support Pelosi's diplomatic overture. David Hobson is one of six members of Congress traveling with the speaker. Three other Republican representatives made a separate visit to Syria earlier this week despite White House objections. Frank Wolf of Virginia, Joseph Pitts of Pennsylvania and Robert Aderholt of Alabama said in a statement that while they supported Bush's Iraq policy, they also believed "there should be an aggressive diplomatic effort."
