Syria's Assad Wants Better Relations with U.S.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has renewed his call for better relations with the United States but at the same time criticized President Bush's government, saying it does not care about peace.

In an interview with PBS' "The Charlie Rose Show," Assad also warned that civil war in Iraq would reverberate throughout Central Asia and the Middle East.

"No one in the region wants bad relations with the United States. It is a great power and the most advanced country in the world," Assad said in the interview broadcast Monday, which he gave in English.

Assad indicated he felt that Washington had not given Syria enough credit for sharing intelligence on terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington. He said Syria had helped Washington "because what happened in New York may happen in Syria."
Asked what he expected from the United States in return for Syrian intelligence on terrorism, Assad said: "At least do not be against us. We don't want anything from them. But not to be against Syria."

Assad has often called for a resumption of Syrian-Israeli peace talks, which broke down in early 2000 during his late father's presidency. Israel has rebuffed the call, saying Syria must first clamp down on Hezbollah and the Palestinian radicals.

Read More Here >>>Relations soured when the United States accused Syria of supporting Hezbollah and Palestinian radical groups and allowing militants to cross into Iraq to fight the U.S.-led multinational force there. The United States has placed limited economic sanctions on Syria.