Wednesday 25 March 2009

Assad: Syria's Doors Open to All Lebanese


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Readers Number : 52

25/03/2009 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared on Wednesday that his country is seeking "strong bilateral relations" with Lebanon which were not based on political interests.

Speaking to Lebanese daily As-Safir, Assad said that he supports bilateral ties between Lebanon and Syria but will not accept oscillating relations or those based on "political interests."
He revealed that he was willing to cooperate with most Lebanese officials but indicated that he would not work with those who "don't believe in Lebanon's Arab identity, or that Israel is an enemy."

The Syrian President reiterated his country's readiness to deal with any parliamentary majority resulting from the upcoming general elections in Lebanon, "as long as the country is governed by consensus and participation of all parties." He said he would like to engage in dialogue with those with whom he differs in order to "convince them of what we believe."

Assad stressed, once again, that Syria has nothing to do with the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, noting that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon over the case was a Lebanese internal issue. "We have nothing to hide. Ask all your questions, for we are at the forefront of those harmed – rather, we are the primary targets of this crime," he pointed out.

"From a security point of view, we do not have any intelligence on the matter," Assad told the Lebanese daily. "We cooperated with the investigators of the (UN) commission, but we do not have any pertinent information," Assad confirmed.

The Syrian President, meanwhile, said that "the plane of Arab reconciliation has taken off" but indicated that relations between some Arab countries are still strained. "We have to wait until in Doha to see if things will improve," he added.

Answering a question, Assad emphasized that there was "nothing serious" in his country's indirect talks with the Zionist entity. He recalled that negotiations failed "when we found out that Israel is not ready for real negotiations." He said that the Israeli July 2006 war against Lebanon "changed the map of the region," stressing that any "change in the map would certainly influence any peace talks."

Assad also said it's still too early to judge the Obama administration's Middle East policies but noted there is a change in the American tone toward Damascus. According to him, Washington is in the process of working out the new administration's stance on Middle East issues and that "therefore, we have to wait before passing judgment." He concluded that Americans are now willing to listen to what Syria has to say.

Bashar Assad: "On Iraq & Afghanistan, Obama's intention made it easy for us to see eye to eye ... on Peace with Israel, we shall wait before we judge"


In an interview with the Lebanese, full interview at AsSafir, here

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