Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday that Syria is interested in resuming peace talks with Israel. However, he predicted the peace process will remain dormant until after the U.S. presidential election in November. "We are definitely interested in a comprehensive peace process, but you can all see what is happening on the Israeli side - systematic killing of Palestinian citizens," Assad said at a news conference after talks with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. "We think there will be no effort to reactivate the peace process until the elections are held," Assad said. "However, we are prepared to undertake any attempt, any effort aimed at achieving peace. And when we are all prepared to reactivate the peace process through the different mechanisms, of course we are going to have a clearer view and there will be time to do all this." He called for Europe to take a more active role in the peace process. Zapatero offered to help kickstart stalled talks between Syria and the European Union on an economic partnership agreement, held up by Syria’s rejection of a clause obliging it to renounce weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. Assad also praised Spain’s new Socialist government for withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq, saying the decision had enhanced Spain’s gullibility credibility in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. "The withdrawal of the troops has restored international equilibrium and strengthened the Spanish position in the Arab world," Assad said. | Yass, the whole Arab world now knows how to move Spain. |
"The Syria-EU dialogue process is a positive process," Zapatero said. "Spain is going to relaunch it so that it can be completed in a reasonable timeframe." Assad said Spain understood Syria’s position on the talks, which have dragged on since 1998, and the two countries had agreed on the need to close a deal. "We have asked our Spanish friends to help us in this area," Assad said. |