Syrian FM: Ready to join Hizbullah ranks
Walid Mouallem tells reporters in Beirut that Syria is not hiding its military readiness to defend itself against any Israeli attack
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem said Sunday that he is ready to join the ranks of Hizbullah and warned that Syria will respond to any Israeli aggression against Damascus.
"If you wish, I'm ready to be a soldier at the disposal of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah," Mouallem told reporters on arrival in Lebanon.
Asked about fears that the fighting between Israel and Hizbullah could spread to the whole region, Mouallem said: "Most welcome."
"Syria is readying itself and doesn't hide its military readiness. We will respond to any Israeli aggression immediately," he added.
"If Israel attacks Syria by any means, on the ground, in the air, our leadership ordered the armed forces to reply immediately," he said.
'Defending the dignity of the Arab nation'
Mouallem, the first senior Syrian official to visit Lebanon since Syria ended three decades of military presence in April last year, criticized a US-French draft of a UN Security Council resolution to end the war.
"This draft resolution is a description for the continuation of the war because, unfortunately, it's not fair for Lebanon, therefore it's a plan for the possibility of the eruption of civil war in Lebanon and nobody, nobody, nobody has anything to gain from that happening, except Israel," he said.
"Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and the Lebanese national resistance today are defending the dignity of the Arab nation and the unity of the nation like it is defending the dignity of Lebanon, the unity of Lebanon and the Lebanese people," Mouallem said.
The veteran diplomat, who will attend an Arab foreign ministers' meeting in Beirut on Monday, dismissed allegations that Hizbullah was fighting a proxy war for Iran and Syria.
"This talk is silly. Hizbullah is fighting the battle of Lebanon."
Ali Waked contributed to this report
