Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam said Monday that no-one in Lebanon was trying to make the country a source of trouble for Syria.
“I don’t believe there is anyone in Lebanon trying to turn the country into a thorn in Syria’s side,” Khaddam told reporters after meeting with former Lebanese premier, Omar Karami, reported the Daily Star newspaper.
“It is Israel, which is definitely doing its utmost to do so, along with all international circles, which have no interest in a just and comprehensive peace, or in stability reigning in the region,” said Khaddam soon after being released from the hospital.
The vice president collapsed while making a speech Sunday during a ceremony marking the 14th anniversary of the assassination of Rashid Karami.
Khaddam said the peace process needed a “microscope to trace, and in fact it doesn’t exist” as Israel foiled negotiations and ignored UN resolutions, the paper quoted him as saying.
“Peace in itself is not an aim. The aim is to liberate occupied Arab territories and make sure that the Palestinian people recover their rights and that stability reigns in the region,” he said.
“If peace is the aim, then it is the Arabs who are supposed to pay the price with Israel retaining its aggression.”
Asked about the tension possibly moving to the Golan Heights, Khaddam said his country’s policy was “based on facts.”
“If Israel commits aggression against us, it is natural that we retaliate with all our resources and in the appropriate manner,” Khaddam affirmed – Albawaba.com
