US asks Syria to begin moving away from Iran: Clinton

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday the United States is urging Syria to distance itself from Iran as well as to stop arming Hezbollah, cooperate in Iraq, and resume peace talks with Israel.

It was the first time Clinton stated so bluntly that Washington wants to drive a wedge between Damascus and Tehran, which is the target of a US-led drive for sanctions aimed at halting the Iranian nuclear program.

Speaking to senators, Clinton presented a set of demands that Washington is making to Syria now that a US ambassador is returning to Damascus for the first time in five years under President Barack Obama's policy of engagement.

She said William Burns, the number three diplomat at the State Department, "had very intense, substantive talks in Damascus" when he visited there last week.

"And we've laid out for the Syrians the need for greater cooperation with respect to Iraq, the end to interference in Lebanon and the ... provision of weapons to Hezbollah, a resumption of the Israeli-Syrian track...," she said.

Clinton said Washington also is asking Syria to "generally to begin to move away from the relationship with Iran, which is so deeply troubling to the region as well as to the United States."

The United States accuses Syria and Iran of supporting militant groups in the region, including the Lebanese political and guerrilla movement Hezbollah as well as the Palestinian radical group Hamas.

It also accuses Syria of turning a blind eye to militants crossing its border into Iraq.