Al-Shara: Damascus does not oppose unconditioned Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara stated that Syria cannot oppose any full and unconditional Israeli withdrawal and considers it an important gain for Lebanon and for the resistance as well as for the Arabs.

Al-Shara expressed this stance in answering the message of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan through his envoy, Terry Larsen, while meeting him in Damascus as Larsen delivered Annan's message which carries the results of his talks in Geneva with Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy.

A spokesman in the Syrian Foreign Ministry said that al-Shara told Annan that regarding the Israeli withdrawal, whether real or a maneuver to evade peace, Syria will not submit to pressure from whatever source and that it adheres to all UN resolutions.