Shabaan: Damascus is ready for peace according to its principles
Syria-Israel, Politics, 5/17/2003

The director of the media department at the Syrian foreign ministry Butheina Shaaban stressed yesterday Syria's readiness and continued desire to resume settlement negotiations, according to its principles which are based on international legitimacy, despite the fact that Syria considers the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon as not "a man of peace."

Shaaban added in a press statement that "Syria is ready to make peace with the one who is ready for it on the ground of its principles." She added "the reality shows this is not possible," noting that "Sharon is not a man of peace but we do not place restrictions on any."

Commenting on the statement made by the Syrian foreign minister Farouk al-Shara on Thursday following his meeting with the High Representative for European Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, on Syria's readiness to resume the peace process according to its principles and holding Israel responsible for not resuming these negotiations, Shaaban said "whenever a foreign official comes to Syria we tell him that Syria is always ready to resume the negotiations on the ground of the International terms of reference and from where these negotiations were halted." She added "Israel calls that preconditions and this is an evidence on lack of good intention -- as how can we throw away results of work that lasted for 10 years?"

The last negotiations between the two sides were halted in January 2000 because of Israel's rejection to withdraw from all the occupied Syrian Golan heights since 1967.

Previous Stories:
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  Syrians in the occupied Golan celebrate strike 21st anniversary   (2/15/2003)
  The Golan: an explosion wounds 24 Israelis   (2/14/2003)

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