Miliband to hold talks with Syrian leader

Foreign Secretary David Miliband is due to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the latest stage of a visit to the Middle East.

The talks are part of a tour of the region including Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Mr Miliband is the most senior British politician to visit Damascus since 2001, when Tony Blair was embarrassed as Mr Assad used a joint press conference to praise Palestinian militants.

The talks represent a testing of the water over whether Syria is ready to engage more closely with the West.

It follows a period of international isolation because of Syria's links to militant groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine, its alleged involvement in the assassination of Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri and its close diplomatic ties with Iran.

The declining intensity of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, which Syria had been accused of fuelling, coupled with the impending arrival at the White House of President-elect Barack Obama, are thought to make the time ripe for putting out diplomatic feelers.

Mr Miliband said that Damascus had a choice as to what role it wants to play in the Middle East.

The Foreign Secretary said: "I think it is very important to understand that Syria has a big potential role to play in stability in the Middle East. It can be a force for stability or it can be a force for instability.

"Over the last 18 months, I have been talking with the Syrian Foreign Minister about Syria's responsibilities in the region in respect of counter-terrorism, in respect of Iraq, in respect of the Middle East peace process, and I have got the chance now to take these discussions further forward. That's what I am doing here."

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