Carter: US ambassador will return to Syria after Obama inauguration

Source: Agencies, 13-12-2008
Syrian state television reported on Saturday that former US President Jimmy Carter said, after meeting Syrian President Bashar Assad, that the US ambassador to Syria would return to Damascus following Barak Obama's inauguration.
Former US ambassador to Syria, Margaret Scobey, was withdrawn from the country two days after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005 for "urgent consultations" and there has been no US ambassador in Damascus since that time.
Carter said that peace between "Israel" and its neighboring states would not be possible without a full "Israeli" withdrawal from the Golan Heights, as well as Palestinian and Lebanese territory. He also added that "Israel" has not abided by the commitments it has made toward the Palestinian people and the situation in the Palestinian territories is getting worse.
The former US president's visit to Syria follows a four-day visit to Lebanon, the purpose of which was to determine if his foundation, The Carter Center, would be involved in monitoring the 2009 parliamentary elections.