Damascus – KUNA – Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam announced yesterday that his country will not make a mistake with the timing and sign a peace agreement with Israel that would be detrimental to it, so as not to err in geography later and lose its rights.
Khaddam was responding to questions raised by visiting Kuwaiti journalists regarding the real reasons behind Syria’s delay in joining the Arab parties that signed peace agreements and Syria’s willingness to endure such a situation. Khaddam said, “We in Syria have a cause, and our cause is the cause of every Arab. Time has not pressured us, and we cannot make a mistake in time that leads to a mistake in geography.”
Regarding President George Bush’s peace plan, Khaddam said it is not new, but the plan is based on a temporary Palestinian state with unclear borders and components.
The Syrian Vice President attributed the weakness of the Arab world to the existence of a ‘defeated Arab regime’ that must be replaced with a regime capable of facing challenges.
On the issue of Iraq and Syria’s rapprochement with it, and the impact of this rapprochement on relations with Kuwait, Khaddam said, “The relationship between Syria and Kuwait is a historical and distinguished one and will not be affected by changes in events. Kuwait is a dear country and people to us, and cooperation has existed with it for a long time.”
He added that Syria views any aggression against Iraq as a grave mistake because it threatens to divide Iraq, which is not in anyone’s interest. He clarified that his country differentiates between its relationship with Kuwait and its support for Baghdad against American intentions to strike it.