Al-Shara, Fischer hold Press conference in Damascus
Syria-Germany, Politics, 6/24/2003

Syria's Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara has stressed that the comprehensiveness and justice are basic parts in any forthcoming peace process referring that Syria is ready to move forward according to her clear interests.

During a joint press conference with German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joschka Fischer, yesterday in Damascus, al-Shara said Syria believes that the basis of just and comprehensive peace included in the Quartet Committee's statement yesterday should include Madrid Conference, Land for Peace formula, the U.N resolutions numbers 242 and 338 agreed upon by all sides and Arab Peace initiative of Beirut.

About the U.S attitude of peace process, al-Shara said that what U.S Secretary of State Colin Powell stated yesterday was encouraging to some extent, particularly when he referred to the necessity of pushing forward the Syrian - Lebanese track.

This means that the U.S direction is for peace not for confrontation, he added. Al-Shara said that Syria wants to achieve peace but Israel has to prove that it is not against peace.

He stressed that the Israeli practices of killing, assassination, and demolishing of homes are obvious evidence that it is hindering the peace process because it doesn't want to achieve peace in the region.

For his part, Fischer stressed that the discussions with President Bashar al-Assad were "fruitful and frank" and that Europe believes that Syria has to play an important role in the peace process in the region.

Regarding the Roadmap to peace, Fischer said that the three-way Roadmap doesn't exclude Syria or Lebanon but it is concerned primarily about the Palestinian- Israeli track.

This doesn't mean that it is against the other tracks because the target is to achieve just and comprehensive peace which leads to settling all conflicts in the Middle East.

"We as Europeans believed that we should exert all efforts to settle peace in the region and Europe" due to our economic and political power "may play a basic role in the peace process in the region" he added.

Previous Stories:
  Syria - German friendship association statement on ME developments   (6/2/2003)
  Al-Shara- Fischer telephone talks   (3/12/2003)
  Al-Shara, Fischer: UN is the only forum for Iraqi issue   (1/25/2003)

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