Syria urges Palestinian coordination in peace process

"We believe that once Israel has signed a peace deal with Syria, it will simply eliminate the Palestinian question sooner or later," Assad told the United Arab Emirates daily Al-Khaleej. Â

 

"Therefore, it is in the interest of the Palestinian negotiators to coordinate with Syria. Otherwise, we cannot help them."

 

Syria held exploratory contacts with Israel through Turkish mediators last year about resuming U.S.-brokered peace negotiations that broke off in 2000.

 

Syria suspended the contacts during Israel’s deadly three-week offensive against the Gaza Strip at the turn of the year but has expressed readiness to resume them once a new Israeli government has been formed after last months general election.

 

"We’ve been offering (the Israelis) a choice between a comprehensive peace agreement and a peace accord that has no value," Assad said.

 

"They say they want a comprehensive peace and, if that’s so, then the Palestinian track will benefit from the Syrian track."

 

Assad said that any separate deal between Israel and Syria without a settlement of the Palestinian question would not lead to a full normalization of relations.

 

"It will be a signed piece of paper, which will not mean trade, and will not mean normalization and (open) borders," he said.

 

"Our people would never accept such a thing as long as there are still half a million Palestinians in our country whose fate remains unresolved."

 

Syria has had sometimes uneasy relations with Western-backed Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who relaunched the Palestinians own peace negotiations with Israel in November 2007.

 

It provides backing to a number of Palestinian factions opposed to Abbas, notably the Islamist Hamas movement that has controlled Gaza since ousting his loyalists in June 2007.

 

But it has expressed support for reconciliation talks between the Palestinian factions that are due to resume in Cairo on Tuesday.