Kuwaiti and Emirati newspapers published statements yesterday made by Syrian Foreign Minister Abdel Halim Khaddam.
In a statement to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anba, the Syrian minister announced that Syria had rejected an American offer calling for it to sign a separate agreement with Israel, which would lead to a complete withdrawal from the Golan Heights. He went on to say that Syria had received this offer twice—once from former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and another time from the administration of U.S. President Carter.
The Arab Summit
Mr. Khaddam emphasized the necessity of holding an Arab summit conference, saying that it had been agreed upon to hold the conference, and its date would be determined during the Arab Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Tunisia.
He continued, “How can anyone question the necessity or lack of necessity of holding the summit conference? If this dangerous phase, which threatens us, does not warrant the summit’s convening, when would convening it be obligatory?”
In his interview with Al-Ittihad newspaper in Abu Dhabi, Minister Khaddam said that Syria had rejected the American proposal that called for the formation of bilateral committees stemming from the Geneva Conference.
Such committees, he said, would not allow for the achievement of a lasting peace in the Middle East, nor would they be in line with the United Nations Security Council resolutions, which call for Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories.
