Syrian President Bashar Assad declared that indirect negotiations with Israel have brought “the possibility of peace” but the two countries still have a way to go towards achieving that goal.
“Today there is a possibility of peace,”Assad said in an interview Tuesday on France’s television network France 3. The Syrian President added “nonetheless we cannot say we are close to achieving peace. We are preparing for direct negotiations. When we reach that step, we will be able to say that we are approaching peace. Today we can only say that we have opened the door to peace,” he said.
Assad’s remarks were just hours after Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaál announced he was leaving Damascus for Sudan at the request of the Syrian authorities due to Syria’s indirect peace talks with Israel.
Last week Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem declared that the indirect talks between the two sides had not made enough headway to facilitate direct talks between Jerusalem and Damascus.
Despite his comments about potential peace Assad said he could not rule out the possibility that Israel "could try to launch different attacks, maybe against Iran, and maybe also against Lebanon, and of course it could launch an attack on Syria." '
Such attacks said the Syrian President would have "catastrophic results." Assad spoke with France 3 before a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a sign of warming ties between the two countries.
Sarkozy, and Turkey’s Prime Minister and the emir of Qatar will hold a summit with Assad in Damascus on Thursday. 09/02/08
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