US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell arrived in Damascus today demanding Syria stop supporting anti-Israel guerrillas and alter other policies which Washington says do not fit in a changing Middle East.
Mr Powell will meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad tomorrow to press Washington's view that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and a possible resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks create a "new strategic dynamic" in the troubled region.
"What I am looking for is...whether or not as a result of the exchange that we have tomorrow we start to see specific action and performance on the part of the Syrian government that would reflect understanding of this new situation and how they are going to respond to it," Mr Powell told reporters.
Asked what would happen if Syria failed to meet US demands, he said: "If they don't meet any of them, that will be taken into account as we decide on our future strategy. These are decisions we will take after we see the performances."
Mr Powell said Damascus should bear in mind members of the US Congress had revived a Syria Accountability Act which threatens sanctions and that some embargo provisions of the USA Patriot Act of 2001 could apply to Syria.
"Frankly Syria would be a lot better off if they would move away from some of these policies of the past... Why hang on to policies that no longer have the same relevance?" he said.
Syrian Foreign Minister Mr Farouq al-Shara warned Mr Powell in advance not to set demands, saying Syria wanted dialogue, not ultimatums, and that would be the basis of the talks.