Syrian FM says US has nominated new ambassador to Syria, first since 2005

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Syrian FM: US has nominated ambassador to Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria — Washington has submitted to Damascus the name of its proposed new ambassador to Syria, the first since 2005, the country’s foreign minister said, in the latest step toward improving ties between the two nations.

The announcement came as Damascus accused neighboring Israel, a U.S. ally, of pushing the region toward war and warned that future conflicts would involve Israel’s cities as well as its armies.

Washington withdrew its last ambassador to Damascus in 2005 following the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which many blamed on Syria. Syria has denied involvement.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told reporters that the “United States has nominated an ambassador” and “it is Syria’s right to study this nomination.”

The standard practice for diplomatic envoys is to send the name of the nominee to the host government for approval before it is officially submitted to the U.S. Senate for confirmation.

Arab media have reported that diplomat Robert Ford has been chosen for the job. Al-Moallem refused to reveal the identity of the nominee.

Ford, a fluent Arabic speaker, is serving his second term in the Baghdad embassy. He was also the ambassador to Algeria from 2006 to 2008.

The long-tense relations between Syria and the U.S. started to improve after U.S. President Barack Obama took office in January last year.

His predecessor, former President George W. Bush, first imposed the sanctions in May 2004, citing Syrian support for terrorism, its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and other activities including efforts to undermine U.S. operations in Iraq. The economic and diplomatic sanctions were renewed by the Obama administration in May.

In March, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Jeffrey Feltman, and National Security Council member Daniel Shapiro, visited Syria. Since that time, various U.S. government officials have visited Syria, including U.S. special Mideast envoy George Mitchell.

The U.S. has also sent military delegations twice to Syria to discuss cooperation to help stabilize Iraq.

The Syrians want a strong American hand in Mideast peacemaking to regain territory they lost to Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.

On Wednesday al-Moallem accused Israel of “spreading an atmosphere of war” in the region after Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that the stalled peace process with Syria could result in an all-out regional war.

Al-Moallem warned Israelis that “a war at this time will be transferred to your cities. Return to your senses and follow the track of peace.” He did not elaborate how Israel’s cities would be involved in a future conflict.

Turkey mediated several rounds of indirect talks between Syria and Israel in 2008 before they came to a halt following Israel’s Gaza offensive.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement late Wednesday saying that the Jewish state seeks peace.

It said Netanyahu “has stated many times that he would be willing to go anywhere in the world, and doesn’t rule out any assistance by a fair third party, to promote the political process in order to begin peace talks with Syria without any preconditions.” He said Syria was blocking negotiations.