Syria is willing to transfer the Shebaa Farms to the custody of the United Nations as part of an effort to resolve the sovereignty dispute over the area, which is currently under Israeli occupation.
| So they're willing to give away land that they say they never owned and belongs to Lebanon? |
The new Syrian position was outlined in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon by Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos, who visited Damascus last month.
Israeli political sources said Tuesday that Syria's offer is meant to put pressure on Jerusalem, which opposes any withdrawal from Shebaa at this stage.
Moratinos sent the letter to the UN secretary general two weeks ago, after discussing the matter with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus. In it, Moratinos, who was the European Union's special envoy to the Middle East before becoming Spain's foreign minister, wrote that Syria is willing to transfer the area to UN custody even before the international border between it and Lebanon has been fully demarcated. The UN has been engaged in marking the border for the past year.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said last year that he would also like to see Shebaa transferred to UN custody, but Syria back then opposed the idea. |