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Syria says verbally Shebaa farms belong to Lebanon but not in writing
During a press conference in Cairo with Arab league Secretary General Amr Moussa, Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora was asked by reporters about the status of the Shebaa farms.Siniora responded as follows: Everyone is saying that Shebaa farms belong to Lebanon. Even our Syrian brothers are saying verbally Shebaa farms are Lebanese, except they will not put this affirmation in writing. We and the UN have asked the Syrians several times to confirm this in writing but they refused. In view of the lack of cooperation of our Syrian brothers we have suggested to the UN to have this area under UN mandate. This way we will be able to liberate Shebaa farms which are currently occupied by Israel. Of course the alternative is to maintain the status quo which is no solution. The Syrian foreign minister Walid Mouallem visited me in Beirut during the war between Hezbollah and Israel and confirmed to me during the meeting that Syria has no objection to having the Shebaa farms put under UN mandate. We considered this as a positive move by our Syrian brothers. after all, every centimeter we can liberate from Israel is an Arab gain. But unfortunately there has been a change in the Syrian position. They are now saying that Shebaa farms fall under UN Resolution 242 and not 425. This change in position will not help in reclaiming Shebaa farms in the near future and this will be a big loss for Lebanon and the Arab nation. Posted by: Fred 2007-04-24 |
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