Syrian Information Minister Ahmad Al-Hassan was interviewed by the London Arabic-language daily Al-Hayat and the Saudi daily 'Okaz. [1] The following are excerpts from both interviews:
From Al-Hayat:
'The Handover of Power in Iraq'
"The Syria-Iran summit showed an absolute match in [these countries'] political positions. Sometimes there are differences in ways of action between one state and the other [i.e., Syria and Iran], in accordance with the situation in each state.
"But on the matter of Iraq, [Syria and Iran] agree that full sovereignty must be restored to Iraq, the removal of the occupation must be speeded up, the easing of the suffering of the Iraqi people must be hastened, and positive conditions that will make possible the election of a government representing all the ethnic groups of the Iraqi people must be found.
"Our mission is to preserve the unity of the land and people of Iraq. The more the present government continues on this path, the more it will discover our support for it. The more it liberates itself from the yoke of the occupation, the more it will find agreement and support in Iran, Syria, and other countries.
"But because Syria and Iran are the leading countries among Iraq's neighbors, there is no avoiding their acting in coordination with each other.
"The accusations by Iraqi Foreign Minister Husheir Zibari, that Syria and Iran support those who are infiltrating into Iraq, are false and baseless. The media sometimes give Zibari's statements a meaning that perhaps he does not intend. No one has proof that Syria is encouraging people to go to Iraq, as the official borders are hermitically sealed.
"There must be a distinction between two things: As long as there are occupation forces, the Iraqi people have the right to resist. [At the same time], we resist any attempt to divert the resistance operations from their main target and harm [instead] civilians and the innocent, or civilian institutions."
An Israeli Presence in Iraq
"Some research institutes claim there are Israelis [in northern Iraq who are either using] the pretext that their forefathers were in Iraq and now their children have returned, or posing as businessmen and investors. Even Turkey has begun to be concerned about the presence of non-local forces (in northern Iraq). As long as there are occupation forces, Israel will exploit their presence and try to use them for its own interests and for strengthening its own influence in Iraq.
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"American officers have related that they met Israeli officers [in Iraq]. The continued Israeli presence in Iraq constitutes a long-term danger, since [the Israelis] play a part in deepening the civil war, the conflicts, and everything that prevents the attaining of national unity and harms the preservation of the unity of Iraq's land, people, and sovereignty.
"As long as there is an Israeli presence in northern Iraq, we expect that [Israel] will act to influence elements among the Iraqi people, and that [the Israelis] will not hesitate to infect Syria with this epidemic.
"But our people and our national unity are impervious to such matters. What happened (in Qamishli and in other places in Syria) is not the result of foreign intervention. (The Israelis) are trying to influence, but the [Syrian] people, with all its factions, is too determined to be influenced by attempts to harm national unity."
From 'Okaz:
The U.S. Pressure on Syria
"This pressure is not new, and we have fingered Israel as being behind it. We support non-militarily the resistance in Lebanon and the Palestinian lands, out of our national position that is compatible with the international legitimacy that recognizes the right of the peoples to fight occupation.
"With regard to the claim that we are enabling fighters to enter Iraq, we deny this and reiterate our request that Washington produce any proof…"
Weapons of Mass Destruction
"If Syria wanted to possess weapons of mass destruction, why has it demanded, and is still demanding, that the U.N. decide to clear the Middle East of all types of WMDs, including nuclear weapons, of which Israel possesses an large arsenal?"
Peace Talks with Israel
"Peace for us and for our Arab brothers is a strategic option, as it arose at the Arab summit conferences in Beirut and Tunis. [Based on] this, we participated in the Madrid Conference and in the subsequent negotiations, until Israel exploded the negotiations at Shepherdstown…
"When President [Bashar Al-Assad] indicates Syrian willingness to renew the peace talks from the point at which they stopped, he is renewing our commitment to peace, and to what has already been achieved in the negotiations – in contrast to Israel, which has denied peace.
"When [Israel] sends invitations to meetings, such as the one from [Israeli President Moshe] Katsav, this is more propagandistic misleading than an expression of serious intent. In proof of this, [Israel] wants the negotiations to begin from the drawing board, without preconditions – which means negotiations outside the framework of the legitimate resolutions."
The Syrian Parliamentary Decision on Economic Sanctions Against the U.S.
"Syria has options for self-defense, and it will employ any measure [possible] to preserve its national interests. [Syrian] MPs are expressing the opinion of the popular classes that have an opinion regarding what the American constitutional institutions have done and are trying to continue to do against Syria or the Arab people."
Terrorism in Saudi Arabia
"We have expressed our opinion clearly against the perverse terrorist operations [in Saudi Arabia]. We have stressed our support for our Saudi sister [country], until it uproots the vermin whose goal is to kill innocents, destroy civilian facilities and sites, sow anarchy, and threaten domestic stability."
[1] Al-Hayat (London), July 7, 2004; 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), July 8, 2004.
