Al-Moallem at press conference with Moratinos.. Israel plants atmosphere of
war and it shouldn't test Syria's determination
Feb 03, 2010
www.sana.sy/eng/21/2010/02/03/270781.htm

DAMASCUS, (SANA - Syrian news agency)- Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on
Wednesday described President Bashar al-Assad's talks with Spanish Foreign
Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos as very constrictive and fruitful.

Al-Moallem said at a press conference with Moratinos that the talks covered
a wide range of issues on the region's affairs as well as relation with the
EU and the distinguished relations with Spain.

Moratinos: Talks with President al-Assad fruitful... Spain supports Turkish
mediation

Moratinos also described his talks with President al-Assad as "fruitful and
constructive" saying that Spain, during its presidency of the EU, will make
peace in the Middle East one of its priorities and will work with all sides
to achieve peace in the region.

"Spain supports Turkish mediation in the indirect peace talks between Syria
and Israel," Moratinos said, adding that this mediation is the best to push
the peace process forwards.

He said his country will conduct a dialogue with Turkey on February 22
during a Spanish-Turkish summit and will work with Syria in this domain.

He added that his country is preparing well for the Union for the
Mediterranean Summit in Barcelona next June and working to sign the EU-Syria
Association Agreement during the Spanish presidency of the EU.

Al-Moallem... Israel shouldn't test Syria's determination

On the statements of the Israeli war Minister Ehud Barak about launching a
war against Syria, al-Moallem underlined that "Israel plants the atmosphere
of war in the region..Syria calls on Israel to halt launching threats once
against Gaza, another against South Lebanon, then Iran and now Syria."

"Israel should not test Syria's determination. Israel knows that war will
move to the Israeli cities..Israel has to commit to the just and
comprehensive peace requirements.

As for the Israeli military drills, al-Moallem said "all armies do
drills..This is an issue. They are either addressing an inner situation in
Israel or they want to inflame the atmosphere of war in the region due to
their failure to commit to peace requirements. but undoubtedly if we suppose
that this war will break out, and we shouldn't rule out all potentials from
an entity mainly founded on aggression. then I say that war will be all-out
whether it hits south Lebanon or Syria, and I rule out our generation will
witness peace talks later."

"The American role in the peace process is pivotal due to the nature of
strategic relationship between the U.S. and Israel," al-Moallem said,
adding, "for that reason we do not lose hope in this role if the United
States wishes it to be constructive."

"At the same time, the European role in the peace process is essential for
so many reasons; first of which, Europe is neighbor to our region and thus
it gets directly influenced by war and peace whatsoever. Secondly, the
European and U.S. roles complete each other whether it is during the stage
of preparation for the resumption of negotiations or during them," the
Minister added, pointing out to the importance of the European role due to
Spain's presidency of the European Union.

Answering a question about the Iraqi elections, al Moallem said that these
elections are a local issue and we will judge the results in light of the
stance taken by any next Iraqi government concerning the relations with the
neighboring countries, particularly with Syria.

Al-Moallem added " Syrian-Iraqi relations are not nowadays as we wish.Syria
and Iraq signed an agreement on establishing a higher strategic cooperation
council last August .We are still committed to that agreement because
geography, history and the common fate make the integration of the two
countries an inevitable thing that can't be ignored."

"Today, there is no justification at all for blocking that agreement which
builds integration between the two countries, particularly due to the fact
that the region after the signing of the agreement of strategic cooperation
between Syria and Turkey is moving towards establishing a partnership zone
in the Middle East built by its own peoples."

With regard to the next Arab Summit and its atmosphere, al-Moallem pointed
out that during President Bashar al-Assad's visit to Libya many issues of
interest for the Arab nation were the main focus of discussions, the most
important of which was the ongoing Judaization of Jerusalem and the
Palestinian cause in addition to finding a mechanism for solving the Arab
differences.

Answering a question on the deployment of U.S. missile system in the Gulf,
he said" Syria has a very clear stance towards the political dialogue that
would lead to a solution between Iran and the International Atomic Energy
Agency.Syria is against any military escalation and any threat of using
power to solve this issue."

He also asserted Iran's right to possess nuclear technology for peaceful
purposes, pointing out that at the same time to Israel's military nuclear
capabilities, saying "We criticize the West for having double standers"

On the Palestinian reconciliation, al-Moallem reiterated Syria's declared
firm stance towards achieving reconciliation for protecting the Palestinian
cause, pointing out to the efforts exerted by Syria to help the parties
achieve the reconciliation and Syria's relentless work for reaching this
aim, expressing hope that the Palestinians would be able to achieve the
reconciliation that is first and foremost the decision of the Palestinians,
saying "we must encourage them to take this decision."

Answering a question on the siege imposed on Gaza Strip, al-Moallem said
"Syria is against the siege imposed on Gaza.We constantly call for lifting
the siege imposed on more than one million and a half million
Palestinians.Every state in the international community must work on lifting
that siege."

On whether the agreement of the Syrian-European partnership would be signed
during Spain presidency of EU, he said "We hope to reach a joint
understanding
through the upcoming discussions with the European Commission that would
enable us to sign the agreement during the Spanish presidency."

As for nominating a new American Ambassador to Syria, he said "The US has
nominated a new Ambassador to Syria and this is an American sovereign issue
that is considered . Syria has also a sovereign right to study accepting the
nomination."

Answering a question on whether he sensed that Israeli officials were ready
for peace, Moratinos said "I think that we and America are responsible for
helping and
facilitating negotiations .We are considering the way through which we can
work regarding the Turkish mediation."

He added that the Israeli officials are trying to take a decision on the way
of using the Turkish mediation and continuing with it in addition to
overcoming the misunderstanding between Turkey and Israel.

On the EU stance towards the siege imposed on Gaza Strip, he said that the
European stance is clear in this regard, voicing support for the Palestinian
people in the Strip and seeking to bring necessary aid to ease the
sufferings in Gaza.

On the Palestinian state, Moratinos said that EU's stance is clear and wants
a two-state solution, expressing hope of establishing a Palestinian
sovereign State to achieve the aspirations of the Palestinian people, which
is one of the priorities of the Spanish presidency of the EU.

As for the American role in the peace process and the Israeli war threats,
Moatinos said the EU and USA work on a complementary basis, communicate on
coordination and exert efforts to push this process forward.

"I was in Israel and I did not hear any beat of war drums .What we should do
is to commit to the peace .The EU is working for the resumption of the peace
negotiations." he added.

R.Milhem/R.Jazaeri/ I. Al Kazhali/ Mazen Eyon/ F.Zahra