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Syrian President Bashar Assad
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners October 8, 2006 |
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Syria is prepared to defend itself against an attack from Israel but would prefer a peaceful and logical solution to the Middle East conflict, President Bashar Assad has said.
The Syrian president said Israel and the United States have "abandoned" the Mideast peace process, and Syria has "to stay prepared all the time," according to an interview that was published in Saturday's editions of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Anba.
"It is normal then that you expect that if there is no peace, there could be war. ... So, we started to get as ready as we could," he said without elaborating on how Syria preparatory actions. The president was responding to a question that asked if Damascus was "able and prepared now to face an Israeli offensive or to enter a war with Israel?"
"We have no desire whatsoever to initiate a military conflict with Syria. It is a concern that the Syrian president continues to talk about war," stated a senior Israeli government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the subject with the media.
Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli Defense Ministry official, told Israel's Army Radio on Sunday that the Jewish state has no intention of upgrading its readiness along the border with Syria at this time.
"There are no changes in the security situation," said Gilad "There is no warning of higher intentions and there isn't a concrete threat."
In the interview, Assad also repeated his desire to see the resumption of the land-for-peace negotiations with Israel that broke down in 2000. In exchange for peace, Syria wants Israel to give up the Golan Heights. Israel captured the strategic highground from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War.
"Since the Lebanon war, Assad has warned that Syria's patience is running out due to the lack of a viable option for regaining the heights through the peace process. At the same time, Assad has said on several occasions that he is interested in progress in the peace process with Israel." reported Haaretz.
"When one defends his country, one has to be fierce," Assad said. "But for us in Syria, we always say that the logical solution that does not carry high costs in the whole area, not only in Syria, is the peace process."
Israel has responded to similar calls by Syria in recent weeks, saying Damascus must first end its support for militant groups such as Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas.
AP contributed to this report.
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