Al-Shara welcomes Israel's withdrawal from South Lebanon
The Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara has expressed satisfaction over talks he conducted with European counterparts on the sideline of the Lisbon conference on European- Mediterranean partnership, describing talks as positive especially with France's Hubert Vedrine.
The foreign minister called on the EU member states to play a more effective role in the Middle East peace process.
He has welcomed a greater role for the UN in Lebanon. He added that Hizbullah is a resistance movement against the Israeli occupation.
He added in a press conference held in Lisbon on Friday on the sideline of the meetings of the foreign ministers of the Euro-Mediterranean countries that Hizbullah is not a militia but a representative of the Lebanese resistance, and the UN is not concerned with disarming it, as it is a resistance movement against occupation. Replying to a question on the possibility of the deployment of the Lebanese army in the areas evacuated by israel, al Sharaí said that this issue is decided by the Lebanese government. He continued he knew after contacting the Lebanese authorities that they intend to send police force to enforce law in the areas from which Israel and its militias had withdrawn.
Al-Sharaí described Israel's withdrawal from the Lebanese lands as a defeat rather than a withdrawal. He doubted Israel's intentions concerning the unilateral withdrawal from South Lebanon adding there are different anti-peace intentions in this connection.
He considered redeploying a force of the UN in South Lebanon is still a hypothetical issue, questioning about the nature of this force which the UN weighs to send.
The foreign minister stressed that Syrian forces will remain in Lebanon so long as the Lebanese government wants, voicing support for Lebanon's backing to the UN role in South Lebanon, providing the peace keeping forces must not adopt stances against the Lebanese in favor of Israel in case some incident occur.
Al-Shara made it clear that Syria has made a strategic decision in favor of peace: " We are now at a cross-road.. we either do nothing or resume the negotiations on the basis of the land for peace formula," he added.
Al-Shara met with the foreign ministers of France, Spain and Germany and talks dealt with latest developments in South Lebanon and the role played by the UN in making sure of Israel's complete withdrawal from South Lebanon.
He also held similar meeting with the Egyptian foreign minister Amr Moussa, the chairman of the PLO political department Farouk al-Qadoumi and Portugal foreign minister, whose country is presiding over the current revolving presidency of the EU.
Meantime, al- Shara renewed Syria's stand toward the Lebanese Shebaa farms about which Israel tried to create trouble between Syria and Lebanon.
In statements for Monte Carlo radio, al-Shara's added that Shebaa farms are a Lebanese land which cannot be a subject of difference or dispute between the two sisterly states.
He added that Israel tries to make use of this issue to create problems between Syria and Lebanon. Syria was able to foil the Israeli pretext and emphasized that Shebaa farms are Lebanese and Israel cannot claim otherwise.
He demanded UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to return Shebaa farms to their Lebanese owners.
Later in the day ( Friday evening ) al-Shara and members of the accompanying delegation returned back to Damascus after representing Syria at the meetings of the foreign ministers of the Euro-Mediterranean states.