Assad blames Israel for failed talks
Syrian president tells Lebanese newspaper of frozen indirect peace talks with Jerusalem, says Israel agreed to withdraw from Golan Heights, but when asked for a number of points along Sea of Galilee, Jordan River as sign of willingness Olmert refused to commit
"We've laid a certain foundation for peace. Olmert's talks with the Turkish prime minister went on for a year or more, until we reached the point where he was willing to give back the Golan Heights in full. Only when he declared this to Erdogan did we start the indirect talks," Assad told as-Safir.
When asked whether any breakthrough was made in the talks, Assad responded negatively: "The talks failed when we were about to make a breakthrough, since it turned out that Israel was not ready for it."
"The talks froze around the definition of the June 4 line. The definition does not refer to specifically marking the border, but to the description of a number of points. We defined a number of points along the Sea of Galilee and a number of points along the Jordan River and in the north," Assad said.
"We asked Israel to prove its willingness by agreeing to these points, but when we got to drafting the border Olmert wanted to phrase it in an ambiguous and complicated way, that would call for a discussion. We did not agree, and talks ended at this point," he added.
On the election of Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister, Assad said this was not a significant change as far is his country is concerned: "This is a tactical change, but not a strategic one."
The president added that for the time being there was no progress in talks with Israel and that the indirect negotiations with Jerusalem and that "the fact that Israel is leaning toward the extreme Right these days is proof of its frustration and failure".
Waiting for action
Regarding the election of US President Barack Obama, Assad said, "The signals sent by the United States are promising, but Syria is still waiting for actions - and especially regarding negotiations with Israel, which don't seem to be at the top of the new administration's priority list that rushed to launch two new moves in Iraq and Afghanistan."
However, Assad added it was still too soon to judge the US administration that is still in the stages of defining its visions. "We believe that the delegations that visited Syria, and especially the delegation from the (American) Foreign Ministry, came to listen to the countries in the region," Assad said.
"These visits were positive, and at the very least did not include commands but willingness to hear what we have to say in full," he added.
The president also commented on inter-Arab reconciliation attempts, following a summit held in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago saying, "The recent reconciliation efforts in Kuwait and Riyadh did not make any real breakthrough. This is a beginning that is similar to a plane lifting off - this is the critical stage, and if we drop our engine power, it crashes and everything collapses."
