Al-Sharaa delivers Syria's speech before the UN General Assembly
Syria, Politics, 10/1/1999

In a speech he delivered on Friday before the UN General Assembly, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa said the international community has considered the peace process on the grounds of which the Madrid conference of 1991 was launched as a serious initiative to put an end to a struggle which lasted for several decades and plundered huge material and human potentials from the people of the region.

Al-Sharaa added that the "Madrid conference terms of reference, the US assertions and the reached results constituted the ground for the UN Security Council resolution concerned. The land-for-peace principle and obligations and commitments by the sides concerned that should be denied because they are deposited with the American administration at the consent of sides concerned."

Al-Sharaa continued on this ground, "Syria's call to confirm the documents provide for complete Israeli withdrawal from the Golan until June 4, 1967 border lines and continuing peace talks with Israel from where it left off in order to deal with remaining items so as the two sides will reach a complete peace cannot be considered as a precondition, as claimed by the Israeli government."

Al-Sharaa said that it should be indicated that Israel's claims that Syria wants to attain the results of negotiations before it take place as groundless since "The documents deposited with the US do not only themselves a peace agreement, rather they are an integral part of such an agreement which we call to complete its remaining points, relating to normal peace relations, security arrangements on the ground of principles and objectives that were reached at the patronage and participation of the US."

Al-Sharaa continued: "Therefore it was not surprising for us what was stated in the speech of the Israeli foreign minister before the UN General Assembly on Wednesday when he carried the banner of the culture of peace and also called on the leaders and the teachers to assure to their peoples and students the importance of peace, ignoring categorically the existence of the Israeli occupation as a main reason for the absence of peace."

Al-Sharaa continued: "The culture of peace needs above all, ending the Israeli occupation to all occupied Arab territories, foremost being the Golan until June 4, 1967 border line, from south Lebanon and its western Bekaa as well as from Jerusalem, the city of peace, halting demolitions of Arab houses and Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Arab lands and last but not least converting the Israeli statements about peace into real actions so the students in Israel will not think that the culture of peace means continuation of occupation of the others' lands by means of force."

Al-Sharaa continued that in the recent weeks important American efforts were made as well as similar efforts by Europe and Russia, and "Syria is hopeful that these efforts will be continuous so Israel will realize the fairness of the Syrian stand and Syria's readiness to resume negotiations from the point they stopped at so as not to waste hard years of negotiations."

He said, "Syria is careful not to waste this chance for peace, but if such a chance is lost, then Israel alone will be responsible for that."

He stressed Syria's reiteration of maintaining the unity of the Iraqi territories and called for lifting the sanctions imposed the people of Iraq, adding that Iraq is called on to implement what had been left of the UN resolutions to ensure a just solution to the question of the Kuwaiti prisoners and other issues.

Syria, al-Sharaa added, also calls on the UN Security Council to immediately halt the sanctions imposed on Libya after the latter carried out all its obligations stated by the UN Security Council, voicing Syria's full backing of the Libyan demands.

Al-Sharaa also called on the neighboring countries of Iran and the United Arab Emirates to hold bilateral talks to reach a peaceful solution to the question of the three disputed Gulf islands.

Previous Stories:
  Moussa strongly denies differences between Syria and Egypt   (9/30/1999)
  Clinton meets with al-Sharaa, reiterates US commitment to peace process   (9/30/1999)
  The US and the Syrian track   (9/30/1999)
  Al-Sharaa meets with counterparts in New York   (9/28/1999)

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