Assad on Peres “Offer”
On May 18, the independent leftist As-Safir daily carried the following interview with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad: “…We will help Al-Hariri: In the Lebanese context, Al-Assad said that he will receive PM Sa’ad Al-Hariri today and “we will listen to him and to what his cabinet needs and we will help [him] and we will be positive.” He indicated that the visits that were and still are being carried by some Lebanese officials to Syria have reflected positively on Lebanon and have created a positive atmosphere.
“And on whether Al-Hariri’s visit will serve to drive the relationship of the latter with the Syrian leadership out of the state of stillness that it was lately characterized by, Al-Assad said: there was initially no relationship between us and PM Al-Hariri and it is currently in the process of being built. Some sides expected that things will evolve in a quicker fashion after his first visit to Syria [but] we do not measure things this way…
“And on whether Syria is upset over the upcoming visit of Al-Hariri to Washington, Al-Assad expressed his surprise and answered: upset? Of course not… Al-Assad pointed out that the Saudis have realized the importance of the Syrian role in Lebanon and that they had a real awareness that if Syria does not help Lebanon to overcome its crisis, then no one can do that. [Al-Assad added that] this awareness has facilitated our positive role in Lebanon. And about Syria’s position if Israel launched a new war on Lebanon…? Al-Assad smiled and said: I think the Israelis are wishing to hear an answer for this question, but I will not make their wish come true…
“The story of the Israeli offer: Al-Assad revealed that the Russian President Dimitry Medvedev transmitted – during his last visit to Damascus – an Israeli message from Shimon Peres including an offer to trade off the Golan [heights] in return for Syria severing its relationship with Iran and the Resistance Movements; our answer was clear, which is that the reality shows that Israel is not working for peace and therefore all the other words are useless… He pointed out that resistance is carried out for the sake of an honorable peace and not for the sake of war in itself. He added: If you are not strong, no one will respect you… The elements of power alone will lead you to real peace. Peace is not an olive branch that we brandish. An olive branch is good for Debka [a folkloric dance] but not for dealing with the facts and for making the power balances…
“And regarding the relationship with the USA, Al-Assad indicated that “the most important thing for us is Syria’s interests, Iraq’s unity, Lebanon’s stability and a fair peace. The dialogue with the Americans has started to touch on these headlines. If the Americans want the dialogue to succeed between us, then I say to them what I already told the French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the first meeting I had with him when I told him to expect me to say more “no” than “yes.” And effectively, the experience worked and now we have mutual respect.”
