DAMASCUS, Syria — A defiant President Bashar Assad said Thursday he wouldn't bow to U.S. demands to expel Palestinian militant groups and criticized new U.S. sanctions against Syria, disputing charges that his country has weapons of mass destruction and is allowing foreign fighters into Iraq.
In a meeting of about 90 minutes with American editors, Assad offered no fresh proposals to spur talks on the stalled Middle East peace process — including Syrian attempts to regain the Golan Heights — saying the United States has made it clear that its No. 1 priority is Iraq and not the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Still, Assad recognizes that he will eventually need the United States' help in any future negotiations to win back the territory Syria lost to Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.
"Of course, we cannot abandon our occupied lands and the United States has an important role," Assad said. "They say this is not now a priority for them so we cannot agree on these points."
Repeating criticism of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the Syrian leader appeared resigned to the fact that American forces will be in Iraq for some time and stressed the importance of preserving the territorial integrity of the Arab country.
An eventual U.S. withdrawal "could be this year, next year, 10 years," the Syrian leader said. "This can be worked out once the integrity" is assured. Assad has previously called for an American withdrawal "as fast as possible" and a principal role for the United Nations.
Assad, 38, met with the editors at the marble-floored Al-Shaab Presidential Palace — or the peoples' palace — on a hill overlooking the capital city of 5 million. The editors were on a fact-finding trip arranged by the Washington-based International Reporting Project.
President Bush imposed sanctions Tuesday that ban all U.S. exports to Syria except food and medicine and forbid direct flights between Syria and the United States. The penalties came as a response to allegations that Syria was supporting terrorism and undermining U.S. efforts in neighboring Iraq. Bush signed the order under a law that Congress passed by an overwhelming vote late last year.
Assad attempted to play down the issue of the sanctions.
"Syria will continue to live its daily life but we will continue to be always open" for dialogue, especially on the Middle East and Iraq, the Syrian leader said.
U.S.-Syrian trade amounts to $300 million annually, and Syrian officials have repeatedly said the sanctions will have little economic impact. The European Union is already ignoring the sanctions and sending a high-level trade delegation to Damascus this weekend.
Syria hosts Palestinian militant groups such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas, which have carried out numerous suicide bombings and other deadly attacks on Israelis. Assad's government regards them as legitimate groups fighting Israel's occupation of Palestinian land. Syria is on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist-sponsoring countries.
Assad said Thursday "there are no leaders" of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Syria, but only political spokesmen who came to Syria after being expelled by Israel. The true Hamas leaders, he said, are in the Palestinian territories, including two recently killed by Israel.
Referring to Hamas members in Syria, Assad said: "If you ask them to go, where could they go? They have to go back to their land and Israel could put them in jail. ... We don't expel people."
Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mashaal, the highest-ranking Hamas official, has lived in Damascus since 1999. Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, who heads the Islamic Jihad, moved to Syria in the 1990s.
The United States also has accused Syria of failing to stop guerrillas from crossing its border into Iraq. Assad's government maintains it is trying to stop fighters from crossing into Iraq but cannot completely control its long border with its eastern neighbor.
Syria has asked the Bush administration for evidence of infiltrators, Assad said.
"We have no response to the request to give us one passport, one name, one piece of evidence," said Assad, who spoke mostly in Arabic.
The youthful Assad, trained as an ophthalmologist in Britain, came to power in 2000 after the death of his father, Hafez Assad, who ruled Syria for 29 years. The younger Assad has promised political and economic reform, but change has come slowly in the authoritarian state: the opening of private banks several months ago as well as a private university and a private newspaper last year. A private radio station begins soon.
Assad said he's still committed to reform but that it will come slowly because of regional instability and the reluctance of some in his society to change. Asked if he sees free elections in Syria one day, he said, "Definitely. Definitely. We're going to change."
"We haven't made great progress. I think the road is still long ahead of us," he said.
Assad said the instability in Iraq affects Syria. He said there was a history in the 1980s of Iraq sending saboteurs into Syria and that even today there is smuggling of arms from Iraq to Syria.
"This is dangerous for Syria. This is the natural result of the lack of a state in Iraq."