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Assad: Syria to Recognize Israel if Real Peace Offered
Syria is ready to recognize Israel and maintain normal bilateral ties if it offers a "comprehensive and real" peace, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview broadcast by French television France 2 Thursday night.
"I have made it clear that when there is a comprehensive and real peace that restores rights to each side in the region, the recognition (of Israel by Syria) and normal relations will become just as natural as those between two states and two people," said Assad.
"We want the Golan Heights, which is part of Syrian territory. Certain people want to know what are the conditions of the Syrian side. But Syria does not impose any condition. We have the rights (to it)," he said.
"We work for peace. It is our goal and our hope... Peace comes only after negotiations and the signing of a peace agreement, which should be fair and balanced," he added.
The Israeli-Syrian peace talks resumed at the end of 1999 after a nearly four-year break but were shelved again in January 2000 due to disputes over the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Golan Heights occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
Syria demands Israel withdraw to the control lines before the 1967 war while Israel insists on keeping the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, a main source of fresh water of the Jewish state.
From June 25 to 27, Assad will make his first state visit to France since his inauguration in July 2000.
Assad will hold talks with President Jacques Chirac on regional and international issues, especially the Middle East peace process and the Iraq issue.
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