Syria: Israel turning U.S. against us
Syrian source tells Qatari newspaper el-Watan, ‘Damascus’ relations with previous American administrations have been good, and it the current administration that has created the crisis with Syria due to Israeli pressure’; comments made amid recent reports of discrete talks between Damascus and Washington
Damascus is willing to cooperate with any international organization interested in obtaining proof regarding the inaccuracy of U.S. allegations that Syria is interfering in Lebanese and Iraqi affairs, a Syrian source told the Qatar-based el-Watan newspaper.
“Damascus’ relations with previous American administrations have been good, and it is the current administration that has created the crisis with Syria due to Israeli pressure, which is being applied in order to realize the goals and interests of the Zionist lobby,” the source said.
He said the Bush administration has rejected a number of Syrian initiatives to hold constructive dialogue between the sides, so that an amicable solution to the current disagreements may be reached.
The comments were made amid recent reports in the Arab press regarding discrete talks between Washington and Damascus.
The source said Israel is playing a “dangerous role” to preserve the tension between the U.S. and Syria, and mentioned Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom’s statement that the Sharon government encouraged the U.S. and France to pass Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for a full Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.
This proves the U.S. is committed to backing Israel’s ambitions to obstruct peace and stability in the region, the source said.
He added that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has assured Syria that he does not intend to make political use of the U.N. investigation team’s report on the Hariri assassination, which is expected to be filed on Friday.
Syria: No connection between Kenaan’s death, Hariri probe
According to the source, this means the U.N. would not blame Syria directly for the killing of the former Lebanese prime minister.
Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported Tuesday that former Syrian Interior Minister Ghazi Kenaan did not commit suicide as confirmed by Syrian officials - but was assassinated.
According to al-Qabas newspaper, a group of armed men was sent to Kenaan’s office to liquidate him.
Kenaan was found dead in his office last week shortly following a phone interview with a Lebanese radio station during which he dismissed rumors that he had received bribes from Hariri.
A week before Kenaan’s mysterious death, a Lebanese broadcaster reported that the former Syrian intelligence chief, who ruled Lebanon for over two decades, told U.N. investigators probing Hariri’s assassination that he had no interest in killing Hariri because he had received bribes from him.
A senior Lebanese official told the newspaper that a senior Syrian official had coerced Kenaan to call the radio station and make a statement refuting the rumors.
The report added that Kenaan was ordered to deny corruption claims against him live on air and to declare that his statement will be the last to the media. The newspaper claims that Kenaan’s ‘farewell statement’ was forced upon him by his assassins to make the assassination scenario more credible.
In this regard, Syrian officials have consistently denied any connection between Kenaan’s death and the Hariri probe.
Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Sharaa has openly said that Kenaan committed suicide due to the great amount of mental strain he had suffered from smears circulating in the Lebanese media.
