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Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

December

• Rice Says Enmity With North Korea, Iran, Syria Need Not Be Permanent VOA 21 Dec 2007 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a year-end news conference Friday, left open the prospect of better relations with U.S. adversaries North Korea, Iran and Syria before the end of the Bush administration.

November

October

• Syria Calls on Lebanese Lawmaker to Provide Proof of Assassination Plot VOA 31 Oct 2007 -- Syria has called on the leader of Lebanon's parliamentary majority to provide proof of alleged Syrian assassination plots against him and the Lebanese prime minister.
• Lebanon's Saad Hariri Says Syrian Official Planning to Kill Him VOA 30 Oct 2007 -- The leader of Lebanon's anti-Syrian ruling coalition says he has information about a plot to kill him
• US Researchers: Suspected Syrian Nuclear Site Dismantled VOA 26 Oct 2007 -- A U.S.-based research institute says new satellite images show a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor site has been completely dismantled since its apparent bombing in September by Israeli aircraft.
• Israeli PM Says He Apologized to Turkey for Airspace Violation VOA 29 Oct 2007 -- Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he apologized to his Turkish counterpart last week for possibly violating Turkey's airspace.
• Iranian, Syrian FMs discuss Iraq-Turkey border tension IRNA 29 Oct 2007 -- Foreign Minister of Iran Manouchehr Mottaki discussed major regional developments particularly Iraq-Turkey border tensions in a meeting here Monday with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Mouallem.
• Syria denies media reports on nuclear cooperation with N. Korea RIA Novosti 25 Oct 2007 -- Syria's prime minister has denied recent allegations by the Israeli media that his country is cooperating with North Korea in the development of nuclear and missile technology.
• UN Nuclear Watchdog Calls for Information on Alleged Syrian Nuclear Reactor VOA 15 Oct 2007 -- The United Nations nuclear agency says it has no information to support a recent media report of an undeclared nuclear facility in Syria.
• North Korean Official to Visit Syria, Prompting Nuclear Concerns VOA 14 Oct 2007 -- North Korean media say a top official is planning to visit Syria, heightening suspicions that the two countries are cooperating on a secret nuclear program.
• Bush to Syria: Stay Out of Lebanese Elections VOA 04 Oct 2007 -- President Bush says Syria should stay out of presidential elections in neighboring Lebanon
• Israel Confirms September Air Strike on Syria VOA 02 Oct 2007 -- Israel has confirmed that it carried out an air strike in Syria in early September
• Syria's Assad: Israeli Warplanes Hit 'Unused Military Building' VOA 01 Oct 2007 -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said in an interview that Israeli warplanes attacked what he said was an "unused military building" in Syria last month, and that his country reserves the right to retaliate.

September

• Syria's Assad: Israeli Warplanes Hit 'Unused Military Building' VOA 01 Oct 2007 -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said in an interview that Israeli warplanes attacked what he said was an "unused military building" in Syria last month, and that his country reserves the right to retaliate.
• Analysis: Murmurs of a New Nuclear Axis cfr.org 26 Sep 2007
• SYRIA: Oil price rises could provoke unrest IRIN 25 Sep 2007 -- Over 40 years of subsidising fuel and other vital commodities have benefited the rich more than the poor, encouraged smuggling and cost the state more than it can afford, say Syrian government officials.
• Israel Says Tension with Syria Subsiding VOA 24 Sep 2007 -- Israel is playing down tensions with its arch-enemy to the north - Syria
• Samore: A Syrian-North Korean Nuclear Relationship? cfr.org 19 Sep 2007
• Syria Calls Israel's Proposal For Talks Insincere VOA 19 Sep 2007 -- Syria has rejected Israel's call to hold unconditional peace talks with Damascus.
• Rumor about "Secret Nuclear Cooperation" between DPRK and Syria Dismissed KCNA 19 Sep 2007 -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA today as regards the rumor about "secret nuclear cooperation" between the DPRK and Syria spread by some media of the United States
• North Korea Denies Nuclear Cooperation With Syria RFE/RL 18 Sep 2007 -- North Korea has denied allegations that it may be helping Syria to develop a nuclear-weapons facility. North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that suspicions raised by Washington and U.S. media reports are part of an "unskillful conspiracy."
• Syria Protests to UN About Reported Israeli Violation of Syrian Airspace VOA 11 Sep 2007 -- Syria has protested to the United Nations about a reported Israeli violation of Syrian airspace, accusing the Jewish state of "aggression."
• Syria Says It Fired on Israeli Aircraft That Violated Its Airspace VOA 06 Sep 2007 -- The Syrian military says its air defenses opened fire on Israeli aircraft that violated Syrian airspace and bombed unidentified targets.

August

• Iraqi Prime Minister Holds High-Level Talks in Syria VOA 21 Aug 2007 -- Ties between Iraq and Syria appear to be warming, as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pursues a second day of high level meetings with top Syrian officials, including President Bashar al Assad.
• Security Council Concerned About Syria-Lebanon Arms Shipments Washington File 03 Aug 2007 -- The U.N. Security Council adopted a presidential statement August 3 expressing its concern over reports of arms shipments from Syria to nonstate armed groups in Lebanon in violation of Security Council Resolution 1701.

July

• Syria's Assad Urges Israel to Make Next Move For Peace VOA 17 Jul 2007 -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been sworn in for a second seven-year term, following a presidential referendum that critics called a scam
• Re-elected Syrian President Bashar al-Assad assumes office RIA Novosti 17 Jul 2007 -- Bashar al-Assad, re-elected Syrian president for a second seven-year term in May, officially assumed office, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported Tuesday.
• Israel Offers to Open Peace Talks With Syria VOA 10 Jul 2007 -- Israel is offering an olive branch to Syria

June

• SYRIA: Warning of looming crisis as Iraqi refugee influx continues IRIN 28 Jun 2007 -- With up to 2,000 Iraqi refugees arriving each day, adding to the 1.5 million - equivalent to around 8 percent of the Syrian population - who have flooded into Syria since the start of the US-led war on Iraq in 2003, economists and refugee experts warn of a looming social and economic crisis.
• Analysis: Smiles in Damascus and Tehran cfr.org 21 Jun 2007 -- Syria and Iran seem like unnatural allies. Syria is a predominantly Sunni state run by Alawites, a secular Baathist offshoot; Iran is a mainly Shiite state, run by religious mullahs.

May

• Analysis: In Syria, A Not So 'Great' Game cfr.org 15 May 2007 -- Among the many actors on the margins of last summer's war in Lebanon, perhaps none gained more than Syria
• Syrian President Rejects Cooperation with Hariri Tribunal VOA 10 May 2007 -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he may not cooperate with a U.N.-backed court to try suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
• Bush extends unilateral sanctions against Syria RIA Novosti 10 May 2007 -- United States President George Bush ordered unilateral sanctions against Syria be extended for another year, citing suspected support for terrorism and continued threat to American security, foreign policy and economy.
• Rice Meets with Syrian Foreign Minister at Iraq Conference Washington File 03 May 2007 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem May 3 on the margins of the Iraq Neighbors' Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in the highest-level contact between U.S. and Syrian officials since Washington recalled its ambassador from Damascus in February 2005.
• Rice Meets with Syrian Foreign Minister VOA 03 May 2007 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has met with her Syrian counterpart, Walid Moallem, on the sidelines of the Iraq stabilization conference in Egypt

April

• U.S.: Administration Seeks To Engage Iran, Syria On Iraq RFE/RL 26 Apr 2007 -- For months, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has resisted the idea of holding talks with Iran and Syria, which he accuses of mischief in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq.
• Defense Secretary Gates Cites Concerns About Syria, Iran Washington File 19 Apr 2007 -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed prospects for reconciliation in Iraq, the Middle East peace process, disruptive Syrian activities in the region and Iran's nuclear ambitions as part of his ongoing trip through the Middle East that included stops in Egypt, Israel and Iraq.
• Syrian defense delegation arrives in Tehran IRNA 15 Apr 2007 -- Syrian defense delegation including officials of Syrian National Defence College arrived in Tehran on Sunday.
• US House of Representatives Speaker Meets Syrian President VOA 04 Apr 2007 -- The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has assured her he is willing to hold peace talks with Israel.
• U.S. House Speaker Meets With Syrian President RFE/RL 04 Apr 2007 -- Despite criticism from U.S. President George W. Bush, the leading Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus today.
• Bush Says US House Speaker's Trip to Syria Sends Wrong Signals VOA 03 Apr 2007 -- President Bush says the opposition leader in the House of Representatives is sending the wrong signals to America's friends and foes by visiting Syria for talks with President Bashar Assad
• US House of Representatives Leader Visits Lebanon, Defends Trip to Syria VOA 02 Apr 2007 -- U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and German Prime Minister Angela Merkel are visiting Lebanon amid intensive diplomatic activity and attempts to resume Arab-Israeli peace talks
• US Lawmakers Meet With Syria's Assad VOA 01 Apr 2007 -- Three members of the U.S. House of Representatives have met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for talks on developments in the Middle East

March

• Syria, United States Exchange Views on Iraqi Refugees Washington File 12 Mar 2007 -- The State Department's top envoy on refugee issues met with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad in Damascus March 12 for what U.S. officials described as a "useful exchange of views" on Iraqi refugees living in Syria.

February

• U.S. Supports Involving Iran, Syria in Iraq Regional Meeting Washington File 28 Feb 2007 -- The United States supports and will participate in the Iraqi government's initiative to invite Iran and Syria to a regional conference, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a congressional hearing February 27 to discuss emergency funding for operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
• US: No Direct Talks with Iran, Syria at Iraq Meetings VOA 28 Feb 2007 -- The Bush administration says there will be no direct talks with representatives of Iran and Syria at two upcoming conferences on Iraq
• Rice Authorizes Talks With Syria on Iraq Refugees VOA 08 Feb 2007 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Senators Thursday she has instructed the chief of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Damascus to engage the Syrian government on the issue of Iraqi refugees
• Mideast Quartet Partners Spar over Engaging Syria VOA 02 Feb 2007 -- The international diplomatic "Quartet" on the Middle East Friday endorsed an upcoming three-way U.S., Palestinian and Israeli meeting aimed at reopening discussion of final-status issues of the peace process

January

• Russia denies new deliveries of Strelets air defense system to Syria RIA Novosti 23 Jan 2007 -- Russia has not yet signed a contract on deliveries of a short-range ground-to-air missile system to Syria, the head of the Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport said Tuesday.
• Iraqi President Says Syria Backs Iraqi Stability RFE/RL 18 Jan 2007 -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani today said Syria was taking action to prevent foreign fighters from crossing the border into Iraq.
• Iraq's Talabani Meets With Syrian President Assad in Damascus VOA 14 Jan 2007 -- Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, has met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the first trip to Syria by an Iraqi president in almost three decades.
• Rice Opposes Outreach to Iran, Syria Over Iraq VOA 11 Jan 2007 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Thursday resisted calls for U.S. outreach to Iran and Syria over what the Bush administration sees as efforts by those countries to destabilize Iraq