Khaddam denies Syrian intervention in Lebanese affairs
Syria-Lebanon, Politics, 11/6/1997

Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam denied his country interfered in Lebanese domestic affairs and said close cooperation was being misinterpreted as interference.

"Syria does not interfere in Lebanon's domestic affairs... But we do coordinate closely on regional matters and on the strategy regarding the peace process," Khaddam said in a rare televised interview Wednesday night with Future Television.

Syria has some 35,000 troops in Lebanon, ostensibly as peacekeepers. But Syria wields enormous influence over Lebanon's internal politics and Lebanese officials are often criticized for resorting to Syrian mediation whenever a government crisis emerges.

Khaddam said, however, allegations that Lebanese leaders were over-dependent on Syrian intervention were "an exaggeration."

He added that discontent by some Lebanese parties with the current status quo was "normal," given that the country was still recovering from 15 years of civil war. Khaddam said he had confidence in Lebanon's "bright and prosperous future."

Asked about the Middle East peace process, Khaddam said he did not believe a breakthrough was possible anytime in the near future with Benjamin Netanyahu in power. He said he believed that a military option was always a possibility in light of the Israeli prime minister's hard-line policies.

Khaddam added his country would be willing to sign a peace agreement with Israel in three months if Israel would withdraw from the occupied Golan Heights and south Lebanon.
Negotiations between Israel and Syria have been suspended since February 1996, after a spate of suicide bombings in the Jewish state.

Previous Stories:
  Monitoring committee's meeting   (11/5/1997)
  Lebanon, Syria cooperation highlighted by General Lahoud   (10/28/1997)
  Boueiz: Israeli talks should be restarted from where they left off   (10/1/1997)

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

Search