WASHINGTON – President Clinton said yesterday he was “saddened” by Syrian President Hafez Assad’s death, but he’ll skip the funeral and send Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in his place.
Clinton offered condolences to Assad’s family – specifically to his son, Bashar, who may succeed his father – and to the Syrian people.
Clinton said it was “premature to say” how Assad’s death would affect the peace process, but other administration officials predicted it would delay talks between Syria and Israel – possibly to next year, when Clinton is out of office.
Meanwhile, sympathy for the people of Syria poured into Damascus from leaders around the globe.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was “profoundly saddened by the sudden death” of Assad, a spokesman said in a statement.
Assad “will be remembered as a statesman of great authority and as a person of firm and consistent principle, who led his country over decades through a period of much change and turbulence in the area,” Annan said.
In Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Barak said the government “understands the sorrow of the Syrian people” and vowed to keep working “to achieve peace.”
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat declared three days of mourning and sent a telegram to Damascus saying his people “will stand with their brothers, the Syrian people, to overcome this difficult moment.”
Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair called Assad “a figure of stability in the Middle East and much respected in the Arab world and beyond.
“The best testimony to President Assad’s memory would be for all involved to redouble their efforts to bring a just and lasting peace to the region, and I will do everything I can to support their efforts,” Blair said.
Clinton-administration officials said Assad’s successor would need time to try to build a coalition of support within the Syrian government and is unlikely to jump head-first into peace talks with Israel.
“There will be a period of mourning in Syria. There will be a period of sorting out. The Syrian people will make some decisions, and then we’ll see what happens,” Clinton said.
“We’ve been at this now for years because of the decision that he made to go back to negotiations and to try to move away from conflict. It’s certainly a path that I hope the country will stay on.”
Albright, who met last Wednesday with Syria’s foreign minister, said: “We expect that Syria will continue on the path of peace.”
White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said Albright would represent the United States at Assad’s funeral Tuesday.
“I think the president believes that Secretary Albright is the appropriate person to attend,” Lockhart said.
Clinton’s upcoming meeting with Arafat in Washington Wednesday is still on schedule and lower-level negotiators representing the Palestinian Authority and Israel are also set to come earlier in the week.
Clinton said he met with Assad “many times” over seven years.
“While we had our disagreements, I always respected him because I felt that he was open and straightforward with me – and I felt he meant it when he said he had made a strategic choice for peace,” Clinton said.