February 2009
• On February 21, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), met separately with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as part of congressional delegations. Their meetings followed those of a delegation led by Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) the week before.
• On February 19, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that UN inspectors found traces of graphite and uranium at a site bombed by Israel in September 2007 which the United States claims held a secret nuclear reactor. Syria denies that it has conducted secret nuclear energy operations.
• A Saudi envoy delivered a message to Assad calling for increased cooperation between their states. Relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia have been tense, particularly since the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
• Earlier this month the United States waived sanctions to allow for the repair of two Syrian commercial airplanes and also reaffirmed support for the UN tribunal that will try suspects in the assassination of Hariri. Although an early UN probe implicated high-level Syrian officials in the attack, Syria denies involvement.
January 2009
• In late January, Syria received a U.S. congressional delegation headed by U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-WA).
• On January 16, Assad attended a summit convened in Qatar in response to the fighting in Gaza. The Syrian leader criticized the Arab Peace Initiative and called for the closure of all Israeli embassies in Arab countries. Saudi Arabia and Egypt, among other Arab states, boycotted the meeting and instead sent representatives to a separate meeting of foreign ministers in Kuwait.
December 2008
• On December 31, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Assad, commencing a regional tour to discuss the Gaza crisis.
• Syria suspended Turkish- mediated indirect peace talks with Israel because of the conflict in Gaza. Israel postponed the last round of talks planned for September because of the resignation of Israel’s representative to the talks and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s chief of staff Yoram Turbowicz following Olmert’s resignation.
• Syria accused Egypt of siding with Fatah during efforts to reconcile Palestinian factions.
• On December 20, the Lebanese cabinet approved its first ambassador to Syria as part of an effort to improve diplomatic relations between the two countries.
• Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) met separately with Assad. During his visit, Carter also met with the Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.
November 2008
• The IAEA approved technical assistance and equipment to help Damascus build a nuclear energy reactor despite concerns about a possible secret Syrian nuclear program.
• A UN report issued November 26 stated that the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon, meant to try suspects of Hariri’s assassination, remains on track and will begin March 1.
October 2008
• Syria formally recognized Lebanon for the first time since the two countries gained independence from France in the 1940s. In August, the countries agreed to establish ties and demarcate their border.
• Newly appointed Syrian Ambassador to Iraq Nawaf Aboud al-Sheikh Faris traveled to Baghdad on October 13, marking the first time in decades Syria has sent an ambassador to Iraq. In November 2006, Syria and Iraq reopened their embassies in each other’s capitals.
• In a cross-border raid from Iraq, the United States killed an Iraqi militant in Sukkariyah, Syria who was suspected of leading efforts to smuggle weapons, fighters and cash into Iraq.
• Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visited Syria on October 11 to discuss peace efforts with Israel and reconciliation of Fatah and Hamas. The Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida reported that Abbas delivered a letter from President Bush to the Syrian president.
September 2008
• Damascus hosted France, Turkey and Qatar at a summit to discuss Israeli-Syrian negotiations, among other topics. During the meetings, France and Syria signed agreements that strengthened the countries’ economic and energy ties.
• On September 27, a car bomb killed 17 people in Damascus in the worst attack since the 1980s. A Syrian news agency with close ties to the government blamed the attack on foreign terrorists.
