By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Nov 30, 2004
Syrian leaders Tuesday confirmed they had no interest in renewing peace talks with Israel unless Jerusalem first acquiesced fully to their demand to withdraw from 100 percent of the Golan Heights.
Meanwhile, an apparently confused UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen told the Knesset that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad was prepared to restart negotiations with “no preconditions,” and that Israel must not pass up this opportunity for “peace.”
Larsen was attacked by one MK for having learned nothing from the Oslo debacle, in which he played a significant role, and attempting to push Israel toward a “similar disaster.”
The UN envoy also told the Israeli lawmakers it was “unimportant” what the motives for Assad’s purported peace overtures were.
He suggested Israel had nothing to lose by taking up the Syrian offer.
All or nothing
Amid a flurry of media reports in recent days that Syria was ready to restart peace talks with Israel, Damascus reminded the world it would only come to the negotiating table if Jerusalem first consented to its demands.
The state-run SANA news agency quoted Assad as saying any talks with Israel must resume from the point they broke off in 2000.
During their meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh Tuesday, the young Syrian despot told Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak that restarting a peace process with Israel “will be through building on what had already been achieved and completed.”
In an interview with Al Arabiyah television, Syrian Foreign Minister Wallid Mualem echoed Assad, saying Damascus was unwilling to give up anything gained during previous talks.
Syria claims former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin offered to withdraw from 100 percent of the Golan Heights prior to his assassination. That assertion is contested by many Israeli officials.
Former premiers Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak also reportedly offered sweeping concessions on the strategic plateau.
Confused Larsen
Despite the intractable Syrian position, pressure is mounting on Israel to respond positively to Assad’s purported overtures because of the efforts of one man – UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen.
Larsen claims that in a private meeting with Assad last week, the dictator “told me three times that he is prepared to renew talks with Israel without any conditions.”
Larsen took that message before the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday, urging Israel to not miss this opportunity for “peace.”
“The people of Israel must not reject Assad’s outstretched hand for peace. Israel must not miss the opportunity to resume talks,” Ma’ariv quoted him as saying.
When asked by the Israelis if Assad’s offer was solely the result of mounting US pressure on Damascus, Larsen responded that the Syrian’s motivation was unimportant.
“Assad’s motivation is not at all important. He is willing to return to the negotiating table. For me that’s more than enough,” he insisted.
Larsen expressed frustration that “MKs in Israel said Assad was bluffing.”
“I ask, why not try? Why not examine the so-called bluff? It’s now up to Israel to make a move.”
Israel argues that were Assad truly interested in peace, he would make a public statement to that effect in person and halt Syria’s support for anti-Israel terrorism.
Unhelpful UN
During the meeting at the Knesset, National Union MK Aryeh Eldad accused Larsen of having failed to learn anything from the so-called “Oslo” peace process, in which the envoy played a significant role.
Eldad said Larsen was trying to push Israel toward a “similar disaster, and that the UN was now the most damaging force when it came to Middle East peace efforts.
No mediation needed
Egyptian presidential spokesman Maged Abdel-Fattah Tuesday countered reports that Cairo had offered to mediate between Israel and Syria.
He told reporters in Sharm el-Sheikh “the process does not require mediation because Israel knows fully what is required.”