Excerpts: U.S. wheat to Egypt.Syria's chemical weapons. Abbas tells Putin
Palestinians want peace talks with Israel. France, Britain seek EU end
embargo on weapons to Syria "rebels". Canada helps Jordan military March
14, 2013

+++SOURCE: Egypt Independent via Egypt Daily News 14 Mar.’13:”US to export
wheat to Egypt”

SUBJECT: U.S. wheat to Egypt
QUOTE: ”the contract between the U.S. and Egypt is for 60,000 tons of wheat
worth U.S.$17.7 bilion”l
FULL TEXT: The United States Department of Agriculture has approved wheat
exports to Egypt under a credit guarantee program, according to Ashraf Ezz
Eddin, head of Egypt's commercial office in Washington.

The announcement marks the first time that Egypt has relied on the US
agricultural export program during the current fiscal year. The program GSM
102, issues credit guarantees to encouraging the export of US agricultural
products while providing competitive lines of credit for buyers.

The move comes asconcerns rise among creditors over Egypt's ability to meet
its commodity needs through traditional methods, such as tenders and letters
ofguarantee, Ezz Eddin explained, adding that the GSM102 guarantees that 98
percent of the deal's value will be paid off.

According to the USDA, the contract between the US and Egypt is for nearly
60,000 tons of wheat, worth US$17.7 billion.

Ezz Eddin added that the amount of wheat, scheduled to be shipped in April,
is very small compared to the amount that Egypt usually imports from the US.

Egypt is one of the world’s largest wheat importers. Most of the country’s
wheat is imported from the US, Russia and Australia, and the country has
been vulnerable to fluctuations in price due to drought, contamination and
other supply issues.

Edited translation from MENA

+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 14 Mar.’13:”Israel : Assad ready to uyse chemical
weapons”
SUBJECT: Syria’s chemical weapons

QUOTE: “Israel’s military intelligence chief says. . .Bashar Assad is
preparing to use chemical weapons”

FULL TEXT:JERUSALEM — Israel's military intelligence chief says Syria's
embattled president, Bashar Assad, is preparing to use chemical weapons.

Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi told a security conference in the coastal town of
Herzliya that Assad is stepping up his offensive against rebels trying to
oust him.

Kochavi claims Assad is making advanced preparations to use chemical
weapons, but has not yet given the order to deploy them.

He did not disclose information about why he thinks Assad is preparing to
use them.

Israel has long expressed concerns that Assad's stockpile of chemical
weapons could end up in the hands of groups hostile to Israel like Hezbollah
or al-Qaida inspired organizations.

Israel has kept out of Syria's civil war, but it is concerned that violence
could spill over the border into northern Israel. —

+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 14 Mar.’13:”Abbas Tells Putin That
Palestinians Want Peace Talks”, by Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: Abbas tells Putin Palestinians want peace talks with Israel

QUOTE: “Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas told Russian leader Putin on
Thursday [14 Mar.] he hoped to establish peace talks with Israel later this
year …”

FULL TEXT:Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas told Russian leader Vladimir
Putin on Thursday[14 Mar.] he hoped to establish peace talks with Israel
later this year while admitting that the chances for progress were slim.

Abbas said during a visit to Moscow he hoped "that later this year, we will
see the start of substantive negotiations with Israel".

"Although the chances for this may not be great, we still hope to reach a
political settlement on the basis of the principle of a two-state solution,"
Russian news agencies quotes Abbas as saying.

Israel and the Palestinians have not had direct negotiations for nearly
three years -- a period that has seen the construction of new and highly
controversial Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Abbas's authority has also slipped in the interim as his Fatah movement
fights for influence with the resurgent Gaza-based Hamas.

Moscow and the Palestinians enjoyed close relations in the Soviet era and
the USSR in 1988 recognised an independent Palestinian state -- a policy
continued by post-Soviet Russia.

Putin told Abbas that Russia was ready "to do everything that we are able"
to get peace talks back on track.

He said ties between Russia and the Palestinians "rest on an historic
foundation, which will undoubtedly help us build relations both today an in
the future."

Abbas began his visit by laying a wreath at the Kremlin's Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier. He is expected to meet Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev later
Thursday.[14 Mar.]

+++Source: Naharnet (Lebanon) 14 Mar.’13:”(Syria) Opposition Hails French,
UK Move to Arm Rebels as Regime Says it Violates International Law”, Agence
France Press
SUBJECT: France, Britain seek EU end embargo on weapons to Syria “rebels”

QUOTE: “(France and Britain claim) Moscow’s supply of weapons to Damascus is
giving the regime an unfair advantage”

FULL TEXT:France and Britain are seeking to lift an EU embargo to enable
them to arm Syrian rebels, arguing that Moscow's supply of weapons to
Damascus is giving the regime an unfair edge, French Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius said Thursday[14 Mar.].

His comments were welcomed by the Syrian opposition as a step in the right
direction, but condemned by the regime of President Bashar Assad which said
arming the rebels was "a flagrant violation" of international law.

The European Union is sharply divided over the issue, with some fearing that
sending more weapons to Syria could further escalate a brutal two-year
conflict that has left about 70,000 people dead according to U.N. figures.

Fabius said Paris and London plan to call for the next EU meeting on the
weapons ban, currently planned for the end of May, to be held sooner.

"The position that we have taken with President Francois Hollande is to ask
(the European Union) to lift the embargo on arms (to the rebels)" he said.

Fabius said Paris could decide to arm the rebels even if the 27-member body
does not give unanimous agreement, underscoring that France "is a sovereign
nation" and hinting at independent action.

The EU last month amended its embargo to allow member nations to supply
"non-lethal" equipment and training to the opposition but stopped short of
lifting the ban entirely.

Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday[12 Mar.] that Britain would
consider sidestepping the EU arms ban and supply weapons to Syrian rebels if
it would help topple Assad.

"I hope that we can persuade our European partners if and when it becomes
necessary (to provide weapons) they'll agree with us," he said. "But if we
can't, then it's not out of the question we might have to do things in our
own way. It's possible.

"We are still an independent country, we can have an independent foreign
policy."

Fabius told France Info radio that France and Britain will ask "the
Europeans now to lift the embargo so that the resistance fighters have the
possibility of defending themselves."

"We cannot accept the current disequilibrium with Iran and Russia supplying
arms to Assad on the one hand and the opposition unable to defend itself on
the other," he said.

French officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Paris was
considering providing the rebels with ground-to-air missiles to retaliate
against air strikes by government troops.

"Lifting the embargo is the only means of moving things on a political
level," Fabius said, hinting at pressure on the Damascus regime and Moscow.

Syria's main opposition National Coalition welcomed the announcement.

"We consider it a step in the right direction... Assad will not accept a
political solution until he realizes he is faced with an (armed) force that
will defeat him," spokesman Walid al-Bunni told Agence France Presse.

Syria's state news agency SANA said Paris and London's intention to provide
weapons to "terrorist groups" was in "flagrant violation" of the principles
of international law.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia -- the regime's biggest arms
supplier -- had made similar comments on Wednesday[113 Mar.].

But Fabius said one could not take recourse to legal arguments to say that
"'we can supply arms to Assad but will not allow resistance fighters to
defend themselves'."

Western powers have stepped up aid for the rebels, with Britain currently
giving "non-lethal" support, but Germany has warned that delivering weapons
to the opposition could lead to a dangerous arms race in the region.

The next EU meeting to study the embargo is planned for the end of May, but
Fabius said Paris and London want to hold the meeting sooner and did not
rule out a gathering before the end of March.

"We must move quickly," he said, adding: "We along with the British will ask
for the meeting to be moved up."

More than 70,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict, according to the
United Nations, while the number of refugees fleeing to neighboring
countries has reached one million.

+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 14 Mar.’13:”Armed forces receive military equipment
from Canada”, Petra

SUBJECT: Canada helps Jordan military

QUOTE:The equipment is meant to assist the Jordan Armed Forces in dealing
with the Syrian refugee crisis”

AMMAN — Deputising for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al
Zaben, Maj. Gen.

Ahmad Habahbeh, head of military intelligence, on Wednesday[113 Mar.]Canada
helps Jordan militaryC received military equipment from the Canadian
government.

The equipment is meant to assist the Jordan Armed Forces in dealing with the
Syrian refugee crisis.

==========
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA