Syria threatens retaliatory screening for US travelers

Jan 12, 2010, 14:12 GMT

Damascus - Syria on Tuesday summoned a senior US diplomat in Damascus to protest new US security regulations calling for mandatory additional screening for citizens of 14 countries, including Syria.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry summoned Chuck Hunter, the deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Damascus, to deliver Syria's 'strong protest against the discriminatory measures against citizens from certain countries who wish to travel to the United States,' Syria's official SANA news agency reported.

The United States imposed tighter security screening on citizens of 14 countries as part of strict measures instituted following a Nigerian man's failed attempt to blow up an aircraft over Detroit on December 25.

Syrian Foreign Ministry officials told Hunter that Syria considers these measures 'unfriendly' and a 'double-standard,' SANA reported.

Syrian diplomats reminded Washington that no Syrian citizen was linked to the Nigerian man's plot.

Syrian diplomats asked the United States to reconsider the measures, and said it would find itself forced to reciprocate if the United States did not.

The United States lists Syria, Iran, Cuba and Sudan as 'state sponsors of terrorism.'

Of the four, Syria has been on the list longest, since December 1979.

The US State Department in April justified Syria's inclusion by saying that 'Syria provided political and material support to Hezbollah and allowed Iran to use Syrian territory as a transit point for assistance to Hezbollah.'

The United States also cited Damascus' hosting of leaders from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

'The Syrian government insisted these groups were confined to political and informational activities, but groups with leaders in Syria have claimed responsibility for deadly anti-Israeli terrorist attacks,' the US State Department said.