BRUSSELS, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A new report calls on the United States to engage in the ongoing Syrian and French dialogue to dilute Iran's influence, the International Crisis Group says.
The report, released Thursday by the Belgium-based independent non-governmental organization, says it will be important for the incoming Obama administration to engage Syria and its tenuous dialogue with France.
The report calls for the United States to put forward clear and steady objectives to support the French initiative with Syria in order to reduce the influence Iran has over the region, the Crisis Group reported.
The report, titled "Engaging Syria? Lessons from the French Experience," says any success with Syria will take patience from the United States and require reciprocation of any positive steps made for peace in the region while penalizing negative ones.
"Ultimately, the Franco-Syrian rapprochement will become untenable if the U.S. is not drawn in," Robert Malley, Crisis Group Middle East director, said in a statement.
"If Washington, after sterile negotiations, were to return to a policy of pressure and isolation, it would become harder for Paris to go it alone."
