Peres and peace with Damascus

Israeli Minister of Regional Cooperation Shimon Peres has stated that the importance of peace with Damascus is not confined to Israel's relations with Syria, adding that signing a peace agreement between the two sides will make the Middle East region as a whole reconciled "with itself."

In an article issued on Tuesday in the Jordanian daily al-Aswaq, Peres added that the Middle East includes 24 countries, of which 23 are Arab states and one is a Jewish state.

He added that the economic life of these countries is distorted because all things are subject to strategic considerations, and the Middle East is still counting its shells and tanks, and there is no one who wants to back the economies and the current prevailing recession in the Middle East.

In his article Peres said he informed US President Bill Clinton that he would abide to commitments vowed by his predecessor, Yitzhak Rabin, to the Syrians, but, "We will wait for a real Syrian commitment to the peace process."

Peres added concerning the right to return to June 1967 border lines, that these "were not borders, rather conditions," adding that he concentrated on his reply to a question asked by the US president on the importance of converting the agreement with Syria into a comprehensive peace agreement for the Middle East, adding that this message was given to Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, who had a positive response.

Peres continued that shaking hands between Israel and Syria means shaking hands with 20 representatives (the 20 Arab states), which means the whole Middle East, adding that the second day of a handshake as such will be the actual birth of the Middle East.