Peres in Paris
Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, GPO
Peres: Syria playing double game
Syria talking about peace while handing over Scud missiles to Hezbollah, president tells French PM
Syria is behaving in a duplicitous manner by talking peace while at the same time handing over dangerous weapons to Hezbollah, President Shimon Peres charged in France Tuesday.
In a meeting with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, Peres said: "Syria is playing a double game – on the one hand it talks peace, yet at the same time it hands over accurate Scud missiles to Hezbollah so that it can threaten Israel."
Syria's weapon smuggling and the efforts it makes to boost terror groups are incommensurate with its declarations that it desires peace, Peres said.
"Syria's real face had been exposed by the weapon smuggling," he said.
Meanwhile, the French PM said that his country is willing to take part in major economic projects in the region and cooperate with Syria, Jordan and the Palestinians. Turning his attention to the peace process, he added that the gaps between the sides are not too big as to prevent talks from being resumed.
'Iran threatens world peace'
President Peres is expected to meet with other top French officials and take part in a series of events and ceremonies during his trip to France. At the beginning of his visit, PM Fillon greeted the president warmly and said France was very excited to inaugurate a promenade named after late Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in Paris.Referring to the Iranian threat, the French PM said his country is a party to the struggle against Tehran's nuclear efforts and that decisive positions must be adopted vis-à-vis Iran.
Also addressing the subject, Peres said that the Jewish State, in the wake of the Holocaust, cannot stay indifferent to Iran's wish to develop nuclear weapons, stressing that such weapons in the hands of a fanatical regime will constitute tangible danger for world peace.
"Had Hitler possessed nuclear weapons, we wouldn't be sitting here today," he said.
