Region | Palestinian Territories
Syria will not make changes to Middle East peace offer
Syria's foreign minister yesterday rejected amending an Arab peace offer to Israel to make it more acceptable to the Jewish state, saying there's no justification for making another concession.
- AP
- Published: 23:13 May 7, 2009
Damascus: Syria's foreign minister yesterday rejected amending an Arab peace offer to Israel to make it more acceptable to the Jewish state, saying there's no justification for making another concession.
Arab diplomats have said the US has asked Arab nations to amend the 2002 land-for-peace proposal as part of a new approach to peacemaking.
Jordan's King Abdullah said Wednesday a new "combined approach" currently under discussion with the US would have Israel, Syria, Lebanon and other nations sitting down together to try to resolve the Middle East conflict.
The idea is the latest indication that the Obama administration is trying to build on the shared interest of its Arab allies and Israel in blunting the threat from Iran.
"It is not possible to amend the Arab peace initiative. ... I don't see any justification for amending this initiative," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mua'alem told a news conference with the foreign ministers of Finland and Estonia.
Mua'alem said he did not wish to comment on Abdullah's statement, but added: "Is it logical that with every new Israeli government that Arabs would concede and put forth a new plan and new concessions under the slogan of a comprehensive plan?"
The Arab peace initiative offers Israel collective Arab recognition, peace and normal relations in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from territory it occupied in the 1967 Mideast war, the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and a just solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees.
Israel initially rejected the initiative when it was first proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2002. It was relaunched at a 2007 Arab summit, and in the past year, Israel has said the initiative could be a starting point for discussions.
The proposal's author, Saudi King Abdullah, warned earlier this year after Israel's military offensive in Gaza that the offer could not remain on the table indefinitely.
Hard-line Syria has gone further, with President Bashar Al Assad at one point saying the peace plan should no longer be offered.
Arab diplomats said this week that the US has asked the 22-member Arab League to amend a 2002 peace initiative to make it more palatable to Israel. Several, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media, said the Americans are asking the Arab nations to drop the Palestinians' right of return and agree to either resettle the refugees in the host countries or in the Palestinian territories.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Mousa has rejected that suggestion.
Mua'allem also spoke before meeting two US envoys in Damascus for talks expected to largely focus on repairing US-Syrian relations.
The top US diplomat for the Middle East, Jeffrey Feltman, and National Security Council member Daniel Shapiro are in Damascus for the second time since March, signalling the Obama administration's efforts to explore ways to improve relations with a country Washington has criticised as a state sponsor of terrorism.
"I have to see what he's bringing," Mua'allem said.
Rapprochement: Lasting deal
The United States told the Syrian government yesterday it was committed to seeking a peace deal between Syria and Israel, a main objective for Damascus in its rapprochement with Washington.
"We conveyed ... President Obama's sincere commitment to pursue Arab-Israeli peace on all tracks, including on the Syrian-Israeli track," senior State Department official Jeffrey Feltman said after meeting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al Mua'allem in the Syrian capital.
The administration of US President Barack Obama started talks with Syria soon after he was inaugurated in January, ending a boycott of several years under his predecessor George W. Bush. Feltman said the two countries still had differences to settle.
Damascus wants the United States to become involved if talks resume, believing this would guarantee any deal would stick. Indirect talks mediated by Turkey were suspended after Israel's offensive Gaza.
- Reuters
Do you think Arabs should tailor the Arab Peace Initiative to present to the Israeli government? Or have enough concessions been made?
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