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              US Extends Economic, Security Cooperation to Tunisia

   by Pamela Dockins

   Secretary of State John Kerry says the "eyes of the world are on
   Tunisia" and America wants the country, considered the birthplace of
   the Arab Spring, to succeed.

   He commented from Tunisia, the first leg of a three-nation tour that
   will focus heavily on political and security instability in Syria.

   In a joint appearance Friday with Tunisian Foreign Minister Taieb
   Baccouche, Kerry said the United States had provided Tunisia with more
   than $700 million in assistance in 2011 and committed to initial plans,
   on Friday, to provide a new loan guarantee.

   Baccouche said neighboring Libya was a source of concern because
   terrorism was becoming "firmly established" in the country. He said
   Tunisia would welcome U.S. support to help it secure its borders.

   Arab Spring uprising

   Tunisia has received broad U.S. praise for its democratic reforms in
   the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprising.

   ''However, the country suffered a severe blow to the critical tourism
   sector of its economy following a pair of deadly attacks earlier this
   year, including a June attack in the resort city of Sousse that left 35
   people dead.

   The Islamic State claimed responsibility.

   "The Sousse attack resulted in a stepped-up security consultation
   process between Tunisia and the G7, which we also participate in and
   which we found very useful to prioritize and de-conflict, and so on and
   make sure we're all helping Tunisia in the best way possible," said a
   senior State Department official in a Thursday briefing.

   In Tunis, Kerry is meeting with President Beji Caid Essebsi, as part of
   the second U.S.-Tunisian Strategic Dialogue, and members of the
   National Dialogue Quartet.

   The group won the Nobel Peace Prize for its role in promoting democracy
   after the so-called "Arab Spring."

   New Syria talks

   Later Friday, Kerry travels to Vienna for the second meeting in recent
   weeks on finding a political resolution to Syria's crisis.

   On Saturday, officials from 17 countries, plus the United Nations and
   the European Union, will launch talks on the crisis.

   ''"I cannot say this afternoon that we are on the threshold of a
   comprehensive agreement," said Kerry, at a Washington forum on
   Thursday. "There remains a lot of work to be done."

   In a communiqué at the end of the first round of talks in October, the
   world powers, and the U.N., agreed on the importance of accelerating
   diplomatic efforts to end Syria's civil unrest.

   They also agreed to a U.N.-led process that would include talks between
   the Syrian government and the moderate opposition, along with a
   possible cease-fire.

   But stark differences remain over some issues, including the status of
   Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

   Russian proposals

   Russia has floated several proposals for the upcoming talks. It
   circulated a plan for ending the Syrian war that calls for drafting a
   new constitution in up to 18 months.

   However, Syrian opposition groups said the plan is unacceptable because
   Russia's goal would be to keep Assad in power. Western diplomats have
   indicated the plan will not be a focal point in upcoming talks.

   ''Additionally, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said world
   powers meeting in Vienna need to agree on a list of terrorist
   organizations in Syria. An agreement would be part of a broader plan to
   identify the country's legitimate opposition groups.

   "There is no meaningful moderate opposition," said Anthony Cordesman, a
   defense and security analyst at the Center for Strategic and
   International Studies.

   "There are people who have a certain credibility as figures," Cordesman
   said. "They do not represent any clear factions or large majority of
   Syrians."

   However, the makeup of the Vienna talks could help produce progress on
   this issue, said Perry Cammack, a Middle East analyst at the Carnegie
   Endowment for International Peace.

   "The Vienna talks themselves are a broad tent, so I think we need to
   use that principle for the opposition as well, to include as many
   groups as we can," he said.
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   ion-to-libya/3056336.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-extends-economic-security-cooperation-to-libya/3056336.html