Alleged Syrian reactor (Archives)
Photo: AP
US asks for meeting with Syrian ambassador
State Department spokesman says Obama administration wants to discuss concerns over Damascus' possible nuclear program, support for terror groups, adding 'there remain key differences between our two governments'
The US government has asked for a meeting with Syria's ambassador to discuss concerns including Damascus' possible nuclear program and support for groups that Washington labels as terrorists, a State Department spokesman said on Friday.
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The request follows a report by UN inspectors on Thursday that graphite and more uranium traces were found in samples taken from a Syrian site that Washington says was an almost built graphite nuclear reactor destroyed by Israel in November 2007.
The Syrian ambassador to the United States, Imad Mustafa, has been asked to meet the acting head of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department next week, spokesman Gordon Duguid said.
"The meeting is an opportunity for dialogue to discuss our concerns with the Syrians," he said.
"There remain key differences between our two governments, including concerns about Syria's support for terrorist groups and networks, Syria's acquisition of nuclear and non-conventional weaponry, interference in Lebanon and a worsening human rights situation."
Relations between Syria and the United States nosedived after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, although Syria denies involvement.
Tensions have lingered over Damascus's support for the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the Lebanese Hizbullah movement, accusations that Syria allowed Islamist fighters to infiltrate Iraq and suspicions about a secret nuclear program - which Damascus also denies.
But Syria hopes for a thaw with Washington under new US President Barack Obama. Syrian President Bashar Assad told a British newspaper this week he hoped for better relations and that Obama would send an ambassador to Syria soon.
The United States withdrew its ambassador under President George W. Bush in 2005 after Hariri's assassination.
Senator John Kerry, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will visit Syria over the weekend.
