In its issue dated January 17, 1974, Al-Qabas published, on its last page, a political news from Syria, sourced from the Lebanese magazine Al-Sayyad. The news included a brief interview with Abdelhalim Khaddam, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria, revealing Syria’s supportive stance for the separation of Arab and Israeli forces if this process represents the first stage of the Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the Arab territories occupied since June 1967. Khaddam explained that the separation should occur simultaneously on both the Syrian and Egyptian fronts to avoid one front bearing the entire military pressure of the enemy. He also ruled out the possibility that any of the confronting countries would resort to individual and partial solutions, especially the two countries that fought the war together under a unified military and political plan: Egypt and Syria.
The following is the text of the interview:
Mr. Abdelhalim Khaddam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria, stated in an interview published today by the Lebanese magazine “Al-Sayyad” that Syria supports the separation between Arab and Israeli forces if this process represents the first stage of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Arab territories occupied since June 1967. The minister added, clarifying, that the separation should occur simultaneously on both the Syrian and Egyptian fronts to avoid one front bearing the entire military pressure of the enemy. Mr. Khaddam ruled out that any of the confronting countries would resort to individual and partial solutions, especially “the two countries that fought the war together within a unified military and political plan,” namely Egypt and Syria. Mr. Khaddam was asked about Syria’s impressions of the proceedings of the Geneva Conference. He said, “According to the information we have, there is nothing new, as Israeli intransigence continues, Israeli maneuvers continue, and efforts to undermine the Arab position also continue.” Mr. Khaddam expressed optimism about the future and said, “The day when the world feels that Israel is a burden on the international community and that it is a victim of global Zionism will not be far away. The issue is a matter of time and an investment of this time.”