'Syria-Iran strategic alliance strong'
Jul. 18, 2008 Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST
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The "strategic alliance" between Syria and Iran is strong and will not be
shaken by the possibility of a peace treaty with Israel, Syrian Foreign
Minister Walid Moallem said Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference after meeting his Iranian counterpart,
Manouchehr Mottaki, in Damascus, Moallem said that Iran's peaceful intention
"was confirmed to us by our brothers in Iran."

Mottaki expressed Iran's support for Syria's aims in the Turkish-mediated
peace talks, namely the return of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau
that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war.

"We support the Syrian president's stand in recovering the occupied land,"
Mottaki said.

Mottaki also briefed Syrian President Bashar Assad on the international
standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

The meeting in Damascus signaled Syria's willingness to act on a request by
French President Nicolas Sarkozy to try to help resolve the crisis by
pushing Iran to cooperate with the international community.

Mottaki welcomed a Syrian role in trying to ease the tension, Syria's
official SANA news agency reported. Speaking at a news conference, he added
that Iran has always kept the Syrians informed of developments in the
standoff with the United States and its European allies.

Sarkozy met with Syrian President Bashar Assad at a summit of European
nations and other countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea last weekend in
Paris. The French president asked Assad to step in and persuade Iran to
offer proof that it has no intention of developing nuclear weapons.

Iran's assurances that it only wants nuclear technology for the production
of energy have failed to quell suspicions that it is seeking a pathway to an
atomic bomb.

Assad promised to relay the request from France to Tehran, but expressed
doubts that his intervention would help, despite his country's close ties
with Iran.

On Thursday, Assad stressed his view that "dialogue and diplomacy are the
only way to settle this issue," SANA reported.