Blair launches secret diplomatic mission to Syria: report

British Prime Minister Tony Blair launched a secret diplomatic move to convince Syria to cease its support for radical Middle East groups, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Blair this week sent his most senior foreign policy adviser Nigel Sheinwald to Syria where he met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior figures, as a British initiative departing from the U.S. policy of isolating Syria, the report said.

Britain and Syria maintained diplomatic relations, while the United States pulled its ambassador from Damascus last year. Washington and London believed that Syria was backing insurgent groups in Iraq and meddling in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

Sheinwald's trip was one of the highest-level visits to Syria since Britain joined the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Downing Street and the the Syrian government confirmed that Sheinwald met Assad on Monday, but Downing Street said the visit did not mark any change of Britain's strategy toward Syria.

According to the report, Blair wished to use these "back channel" talks to test whether Syria was serious about seeking to play a constructive role in the Middle East peace negotiations with Israel.

Britain would also like to see Syria rethink its close alliance with Iran, the report added.

Last year, western relations with Syria reached a new low after the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. A UN probe was investigating Syria's alleged role in the killing.

Syria demanded the United Nations drop its charges against it for its alleged role in the assassination of Hariri in exchange for a shift in policy, the report said, citing unnamed Lebanese politicians.

Source: Xinhua