Dakhlullah on Syria's regional policies
Syria-Regional, Politics, 9/13/2005

there should be "just peace, ending occupation and banning armed conflicts or use of force under any pretext," said Syrian minister of information Mahdi Dakhlullah

Dakhlullah said that Syria has always urged for adopting the dialogue and interaction as the only means for solving disputes among nations.

The minister was speaking in a meeting Monday with an Italian delegation of journalists and members of Arab-Italian society friendship associations and peace groups for the support of the peoples.

Dakhlullah said the Palestinian people have been under unprecedented suffering in the modern history where many Palestinians were killed or displaced across the world as their question still unsolved despite UN Security Council resolutions which stress their right to restore the land and establish an independent state.

The minister added that Israel is the party which causes instability in the Middle East through insistence to go ahead with the policy of aggression and occupation of Arab territories.

Members of the Italian delegation, who are on a tour that includes Lebanon to commemorate the victims of Sabra and Shatilla Refugee Camps massacres perpetrated by Israeli occupation troops in 1982, voiced solidarity with Syria's efforts to establish stability and just peace in the Middle East.

They pointed out that their stopover in Damascus reflects a call for peace, rejection of the wars and encouragement for constructive dialogue favored by Syria.

The Minister of Information, replying to a question by a member of the delegation on the weapons of mass destruction ( WMD), said that Syria supports the call for turning the Middle East into a WMD-free zone. He added that four years ago Syria presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council in this regard.

As for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza Strip, the Minister said that "this withdrawal, as Israelis acknowledged, has been achieved due to the Palestinian resistance...the pullout was an Israeli military setback and not a tendency by Sharon towards peace."

On the Syrian-Lebanese relationship, the minister indicated that Syrian-Lebanese relations are fraternal, adding that Syria had been able to maintain Lebanon's Arabism, and the Syrian army offered a lot of sacrifices for that aim.

He added that the Syrian army had begun withdrawal from Lebanon since 2000, and by 2004 more than 80 percent of the Syrian forces had already withdrawn from the country.

The minister said there are some people who sought to manipulate the situation in Lebanon through the endeavor to settle the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and through a series of assassinations which aim at inciting sedition among the Lebanese.

He reiterated Syria's stance in condemning all forms of "blind terrorism" which seeks to sow panic and destruction. He pointed out that Syria was one of first countries which suffered from terrorism in the early 1980's while others were supporting the groups which resorted to terrorism.

Dakhlullah said it is necessary to differentiate between terrorism and legitimate resistance by peoples under occupation, adding that 14 years ago Damascus called for an international conference to define terrorism, a move that could have spared the world a lot of problems.

Previous Stories:
  Tourkmani: intensive unjust campaign propagated against Syria   (9/8/2005)
  Turkmani: Syria pan-Arab stances not effected by those aiming to damage her Arab ties   (8/30/2005)
  Mantica: Syrian and Italian views are identical   (5/12/2005)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search