Saturday, May 24, 2008

Damascus divided over peace talks


Editor-in-chief of al-Quds al-Arabi says Syrian leadership deeply divided over return to negotiations with Israel, sees resumption of talks as clear victory for those advocating jumping ship on Tehran

"The indirect negotiations between Syria and Israel have flamed existing tensions between the two camps dominating the regime in Damascus. At least according to the London-based 'al-Quds al-Arabi' newspaper on Saturday.

According to an editorial penned by the paper's editor-in-chief, Abdel Bari-Atwan, on the one side of the spectrum is President Bashar Assad's deputy, Farouk al-Sharaa and on the other – his foreign affairs minister, Walid al-Mualem, who supports dialogue with Israel and the United States.

Bari-Atwan asserts that the two have polar opposite views of what Damascus' next step should be.

Al-Mualem advocates negotiations that would lead to an agreement with Israel, a move which could extract Syria from its US-imposed isolation and, furthermore, possible prevent the establishment of an international criminal tribunal to deal with the assassination of Lebanon's Rafik al-Hariri.

Al-Sharaa, however, maintains a stringent belief that Syria must not compromise its principles and continue its policy of supporting 'resistance,' while preserving the current alliances with Russia, China and Iran. He also believes that Damascus should not abandon organizations under its patronage, namely Hizbullah, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad......."

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