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Syria Seen Defying U.S. Sanctions

(Reuters) Syria will resist publicly changing tack to avoid looming U.S. sanctions, but cannot ignore the harsher international winds blowing since 9/11 and the Iraq war, diplomats and analysts say. "Syrian diplomacy is not known for its audacity. They will try to sit out the storm," one diplomat said, referring to U.S. plans to slap new penalties on Syria for what Washington views as hostile policies, including support for terrorism. Syria's Baathist ideology requires it to nurture the guttering flame of Arab nationalism. Syria looks to Europe to counterbalance pressures from the U.S., but a trade and political pact with the EU that took six years to negotiate has been blocked since December because Britain, Germany, and The Netherlands want to include tougher provisions on weapons of mass destruction. With several EU member states keen to rebuild ties to Washington after the strains of the Iraq war, there seems little European appetite to take up cudgels on Syria's behalf.
2004-03-15 00:00:00
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