TFLE01: SYRIA DAILY SITREP 19 FOR TUESDAY AUGUST

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 003896 SIPDIS SIPDIS PARIS FOR WALLER, LONDON FOR TSOU, AMMAN FOR KANNESHIRO, CAIRO FOR CHEYNE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM LE SY SUBJECT: TFLE01: SYRIA DAILY SITREP 19 FOR TUESDAY AUGUST 8, 2006 ¶1. (U) Summary: In Beirut, Syrian FM Walid Mu'allim continued praising Hizballah (the "Lebanese National Resistance"), noting in his public remarks that Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora had been politically strengthened by Hizballah's military successes. Mu'allim also rejected the draft UNSCR. Top SARG officials engaged with high-level Greek officials as Syria asked Greece to assume a more active role in resolving the Middle East crisis. Syrian VP Farouk al-Shara'a met with Chinese Special Envoy for the Middle East Sun Pejan to discuss the situation in Lebanon and the development of bilateral relations. End Summary. Political ¶2. (U) The following are political updates: -- In Beirut on August 7 for the emergency meeting of Arab League foreign ministers, Syrian FM Walid Mu'allim in his remarks noted that Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora was politically strong because of Hizballah's military success in confronting Israel. He assured Siniora that the UNSC would not be able to impose a resolution that was unacceptable to the Lebanese people, according to official Syrian press (SANA). -- SANA reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Asad spoke by phone with Greek Socialist Party leader George Papandreou about the latest developments in the crisis and the role Europe could play in resolving it, according to official Syrian press. Meanwhile, SARG Information Minister Mohsen Bilal met in Athens both with Papandreou and with Greece's FM Dora Pakayani, who sought to hear the Syrian position on the conflict in Lebanon. -- Asad also telephoned Lebanese President Emile Lahoud to discuss ongoing Israeli military action in Lebanon and coordinate the two countries' positions on the draft Franco-American UNSCR. -- Syrian VP Farouk al-Shara'a met August 7 with Chinese Special Envoy for the Middle East Sun Pejan about the situation in Lebanon. Security ¶3. (SBU) The following are security updates: -- RSO reports that Damascus and environs remain quiet. Consular ¶4. (U) The following are consular updates: -- As of 1600 local time, the Consular section had received 85 walk-in requests for ACS services on August 7, up slightly from 75 inquiries the previous day. Economic ¶5. (U) The following are economic updates: -- Syrian press reported that in a meeting August 7, Syrian PM Mohammed Naji Otri urged the heads of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent's governorate branches to expand their teams of volunteers and enhance public participation in the ongoing relief efforts. According to SARG Minister for Red Crescent Affairs, more than 200,000 Lebanese have been allowed to entered Syria without registration procedures since the fighting erupted. -- SARG-owned newspapers Tishreen and Al-Ba'ath cited a National Lebanese Information Agency report that Syria has supplied some gasoline to stations in Lebanon. (Comment: The papers did not provide any figures on the quantity supplied, the mode of transport, or the location and number of the stations supplied.) CORBIN