Spokesman for the Syrian Embassy in the US: We Are Willing to Renew Negotiations with Israel from the Point They Broke Off

The following are excerpts from an interview with the spokesman for the Syrian Embassy in Washington, 'Ammar 'Orsan:

'Orsan: [As for the explosion in Damascus], the interior minister did not accuse the Mossad for no reason. In our opinion, this is the typical Israeli response, which is in line with the state-sponsored terrorism committed by this racist state as opposed to the Syrian position, which calls for the renewal of peace negotiations from the point they broke off. This is the typical Israeli response

Interviewer: You automatically accuse the Mossad, but do you in Syria have any concrete evidence that enables you to point the finger at Israel?

'Orsan: As I just told you, the Syrian interior minister would not level such accusations in vain. Of course, there are facts on the ground regarding this incident. In addition, Israel's policy makes us sure that the only one behind these activities is the Israeli government, which acts stubbornly and rejects any attempt to peacefully resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Our experience in negotiations with this party [Israel] proves that until now, the Israeli people, Israeli society and the current Israeli leadership are not at all interested in an historical peace agreement with the Arabs. Today, Syria presented the same position it has taken since the beginning of the peace process in Madrid. Today there may be a change in the diplomatic way in which Syrian foreign policy is presented. However, what Syria is saying today is the same as it said yesterday and as it always reiterates: Syria is willing to renew Syrian-Israeli negotiations from the point they broke off. We will soon talk about the details of "Rabin's deposit," but Syria reiterates its position, which has not changed since Madrid: we are ready to renew negotiations from the point they broke off, without preconditions. If they want to talk about pre-conditions, the Arabs should say today that they are not willing to renew negotiations with Israel unless Israel destroys its nuclear arsenal, exposes this arsenal to the world, invites the IAEA inspectors to these facilities, and signs the NPT. These are the preconditions.