Syrian Prime Minister Naji Al Otari said on Thursday the Arab state would welcome a revival of efforts for peace with Israel based on the outcome of previous efforts and UN resolutions. Al Otari's remarks came some two weeks after Israel carried out its deepest air strike in Syria for about three decades, triggering increased tension in the region. "Syria, which is keen on peace and exerted intensive efforts to combat terrorism, asserts that it would be in favour of any serious bid for just and comprehensive peace," said Otari.
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Al Otari, addressing European and Arab businessmen in Damascus at a conference to promote business with Europe, accused Israel of wrecking efforts for Arab-Israeli peace. "Israel, at every stage of the stages that aim at bringing peace to the region, works to foil the efforts exerted for this goal and to bring the region back to the circle of tension, violence and turbulence," he said.
Peace talks between the two neighbours, broke down in 2000 over the future of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East War. Israel has said it was willing to return to the negotiations table without any conditions. Syria's longstanding stance is that any fresh efforts should build on the outcome of a decade of talks. Al Otari urged the European Union to use its good offices in the region to remove all weapons of mass destruction including Israel's nuclear arsenal.
Israel is believed to possess nuclear weapons, but it tries to maintain a policy of ambiguity over its nuclear status. Syria, facing US accusations of developing chemical weapons, has asked the UN Security Council to help transform the Middle East into a "zone free of weapons of mass destruction". Syria says Washington blocked the move. |