Remarks by the Vice-President of the Syrian Arab Republic,
Damascus, January 1993
In an interview with a weekly magazine Al-Wasat, at Damascus, in January 1993, Mr. Abd al-Halim Khaddam, Vice-President of the Syrian Arab Republic, among other things, addressed the issues of the Palestinian deportees and the status of the Israeli-Syrian negotiations.
On the issue of the Palestinian deportees:
“With regard to the Palestinian deportees issue, we are making major international efforts and extensive contacts to exert pressure on Israel to compel it to backtrack and return these combatants to their country and families. At any rate, it is difficult to talk about what can be done at a time that has not come yet. We do not want to link one matter to another. We believe that Security Council resolution 799 needs to be implemented, just as another Arab country is being forced to implement UN Security Council resolutions.”
On the Israeli-Syrian negotiations:
“Our policy is clear. We want a comprehensive solution on all the fronts. This is why we did not accept Syrian-Israeli negotiations without the existence of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, Lebanese-Israeli negotiations, and Jordanian-Israeli negotiations. We adhere to a comprehensive solution and to a solution on all the fronts. There is coordination among the negotiating Arab delegations. When we reach a stage which requires meetings the foreign ministers meet, discuss, and coordinate among themselves.”
“There are no Syrian-Israeli secret contacts or meetings outside the framework of the Washington bilateral negotiations. I can also say that no progress was made in the rounds of negotiations with the Israelis. We are still at square one, but that does not mean that the peace process has reached a dead end or has failed. We continue the talks. If we achieve satisfactory results that fulfill our national and pan-Arab objectives, then we would proceed on the same road. If not, then we would naturally stop.”
Asked about the conditions of the Syrian Arab Republic for a peace agreement with Israel, Mr. Khaddam said:
“That the peace should be comprehensive and that Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 should be implemented in a way that would lead to Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories and guarantee the Palestinian people’s national rights.