RSVP Will Prove Syria's Intentions, Israel Says

cnsnews.com ^ | January 12, 2004 | Julie Stahl

[prairiebreeze]

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Syrian President Bashar Assad's decision to either accept or reject an Israeli invitation to visit Israel will prove if he is serious about peace negotiations, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said on Monday.

Israel's titular head of state, President Moshe Katsav, invited the Syrian leader to come to Jerusalem "to seriously negotiate with Israeli leaders on the conditions of a peace accord." He made the offer in a radio interview on Monday.

While Israel is wary of Assad's recent offer (made in a newspaper interview) to resume negotiations with Israel after a four-year hiatus, Katsav said that Israel should nevertheless consider his proposal "seriously and thoroughly."

But Syrian Minister Buthaina Shaaban said that there was no doubt that Assad would refuse the invitation, calling Katsav's gesture a "meaningless statement."

Syria needs a "serious response," Shaaban said. "A serious response is to say yes, we are interested in peace, we want to negotiate."

"President Katsav's invitation this morning shows that Israel is willing. Now we must wait to see if Syria is willing," Shalom said.

"If the Syrian government rejected the invitation, it shows that the Syrian leadership is not serious and is not demonstrating willingness and readiness... I am in favor of direct negotiations with no preconditions," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Sunday that Israel was fully committed "to opening negotiations without preconditions and without the use of violence, terrorism and incitement in order to achieve peace and security with all the Arab countries."

But Sharon said that the first step would be for Syria to cut off it's backing for terrorist organizations including the Hizballah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards based in Lebanon.

Assad, who said he was willing to start talks without preconditions, said he wanted talks to restart where they left off - a non-starter for Sharon.

Talks stalled over a Syrian demand that Israel return all the Golan Heights, including the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a major source of fresh water for Israel

[Imal]

"Shall we dance?"

[Mr170IQ]

Syria's intentions are as follows:

By conducting pointless "peace talks", they will avoid any chance of suffering Iraq's fate.

No matter how many jihadists pass into Iraq from Syria to kill US GIs,
no matter how conclusive the proof that Iraqi WMDs were moved into Syria and Lebanon,
no matter how completely unyielding Syria's position remains,

as long as Syria and Israel are sitting at "the peace table" the United States will not launch a "regime change" against Damascus.

[prairiebreeze]

I believe your analysis is correct.

Prairie