'A Long Road Ahead'

When Bashar Assad became president of Syria four years ago, world leaders were optimistic he would reform the Baathist regime his authoritarian father, Hafiz Assad, ran for three decades. That optimism has since faded, and Washington's relations with Damascus have now declined to the point where President George W. Bush this week ordered sanctions against Syria.

The White House says it has taken the step because of what it sees as Syria's support for militant Palestinian groups like Hamas, Syria's continued military presence in Lebanon, its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and its failure to stop foreign fighters from crossing the border into Iraq. The sanctions--which include banning exports to Syria, prohibiting Syrian aircraft from landing in the United States and requiring American financial institutions to sever correspondent accounts with the Commercial Bank of Syria--are largely seen as symbolic. Syrian aircraft currently do not fly into the United States and American exports to Syria are less than $250 million--more than half of which is food and medicine, and therefore exempt from the restrictions.

Yet even symbolic measures can take their toll in such a volatile region. Some diplomats believe that Assad, 38, is a genuine reformer, and that Washington's decision will sabotage his efforts at political change. Two days after Tuesday's announcement of sanctions, Assad met with a group of American editors, including NEWSWEEK's Arlene Getz, to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East, Syrian politics and his reaction to the sanctions measures. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: What is your reaction to the U.S. sanctions imposed this week?

Bashar Assad: We do not have any reaction. Not because it doesn't affect us but because we don't yet know how it will affect us.

One of the reasons for the sanctions is the U.S. charge that foreign fighters were crossing the Syrian border into Iraq. Is that still happening?