Al-Shara conveyed a message from al-Assad to Mubarak
Egypt-Syria, Politics, 4/10/2000

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak received Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara on Saturday in Cairo.

The foreign minister conveyed a message from President Hafez al-Assad to President Mubarak.

The message is relating to the latest developments concerning the region, especially matters on the Middle East peace process and the reports on the possible unilateral Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon.

The meeting was attended by Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and the chief of the Syrian mission in Cairo, Majid Abu Saleh.

After his meeting with President Mubarak, al-Shara, together with his Egyptian counterpart Amr Moussa, replied to questions asked by reporters. Al-Shara's said the message he had conveyed to President Mubarak was connected with the latest developments in the Middle East peace process, the current situation and what is stated about the possibility of Israel's unilateral withdrawal from south Lebanon.

Al-Shara added, "I explained to President Mubarak Syria's stand, the solid coordination between Syria and Lebanon and the two countries' viewpoints towards Israel's intentions against Lebanon."

Al-Shara stressed that Syria totally supports the Lebanese stand expressed by President Emile Lahoud and the points he addressed to the secretary general of the UN, hoping that the UN chief would act according to the UN charter.

Al-Shara added that Lebanese President Emile Lahoud awaits being informed of an official Israeli stand in a written notification through the UN chief, stressing that without doing so, Lebanon cannot consider Israel about withdrawal.

The Syrian foreign minister said Israel is deceiving the world by saying it will withdraw from Lebanon completely and unconditionally and is accusing Syria of being against such a withdrawal, asserting that Israel has malicious objectives in setting the proposal of withdrawal which he said is contradictory to the facts.

He stressed Syria's total support for Lebanon and its call on Israel to withdraw from the Lebanese territories, space and waters and to find a just settlement for the problem of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Such a complete withdrawal, al-Shara continued, is fully backed by Syria and Lebanon and is considered a victory for the Lebanese resistance, Lebanon and all Arabs who backed the resistance during the recent conference held by the Arab foreign ministers in Beirut.

Concerning the allegations stated that the ball is now in the Syrian court, al-Shara added that Syria was surprised at such an allegation, stressing that in the light of the current conditions the ball is actually in the Israeli court. Al-Shara said, "If Syria wants to throw the ball, it will be in the American court, as well, because President al-Assad was conspicuous when he said in Geneva Syria wants a just and comprehensive Middle East peace to be based on the total withdrawal of the Israeli forces until June 4, 1967 border lines." He added, "Otherwise there will be no peace."

He indicated that this Syrian stand is not new, and was repeatedly stated before and during the Madrid Conference, and in 1994 it became an Israeli obligation and a deposit at the hands of US President Bill Clinton. Al-Shara asked, "How can then the ball in the Syrian court if this is the stand of President al-Assad."

Al-Shara continued that the US president had set Israeli ideas on the Syrian side, and Syria responded to those notions or proposals by adopting a clear-cut stand which is compatible with the "land-for-peace principle," with the international legitimacy resolutions and with the Madrid terms of reference.

He continued, "The ball now is in another place. They either want tension in the region or want peace. Syria is with peace and against tension. Any step to be made by Israel, it will be responsible for it, and any American aid rendered to Israel and not to a just and comprehensive peace, the American sponsor will bear part of the responsibility."

For his part, the Egyptian foreign minister reiterated the importance of maintaining the unity of the Syrian- Lebanese peace tracks and of concentrating on the firm principles of the Arab stand, which are based on persistence in proceeding with the peace process and on implementation of UN Security Council resolutions 242, 338 and 425 and the land-for-peace formula.

Moussa described al-Shara's talks in Cairo as important, stressing the importance of Syrian - Egyptian cooperation.

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