Assad: Syria still believes in peace with Israel (Haaretz)

Well said. But when?

Assad: Syria still believes in peace with Israel (Haaretz)
Syrian President Bashar Assad told the weekly magazine the New Yorker that though it may take some time, Syria still believes in the power of serious dialogue to produce a lasting peace with Israel.

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In an interview via email several days after Israel and Hamas declared unilateral cease-fires following Israel's three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip, Assad said that though Israel was "doing everything possible to undermine the prospects for peace," he was still very interested in closing a deal.

"We have to wait a little while to see how things will evolve and how the situation changes," Assad wrote as Israel voted in a new government headed by Benjamin Netanyau. "We still believe that we need to conclude a serious dialogue to lead us to peace," he declared.

In the interview, Assad argued that Israel understands that the return of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War, is not negotiable.

"The Israelis know that we are not going to negotiate the line of 1967," Assad wrote, but suggested that compromises were possible. "We only demarcate the line," he wrote. "We negotiate the relations, the water and everything else."

You discuss everything after the peace and getting your land. Not before," Assad stressed.

The Syrian leader criticized Israel for wasting time on the wrong issues, referring to Israel's insistence that Syria sever its ties with Iran and the militant groups the Islamic republic supports Lebanon's militia Hezbollah and the Gaza rulers Hamas under the terms of a peace agreement.

In order to achieve a peace agreement, Assad wrote, Israel would have to focus on "core issues" ? issues relating to Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and not waste time talking about who is going to send arms to Hezbollah or Hamas. Wherever you have resistance in the region, they will have armaments somehow. It is very simple."

"Hezbollah is in Lebanon and Hamas is in Palestine," Assad continued. "If they want to solve the problem with Hezbollah they have to deal with Lebanon. For Hamas, they have to deal with Gaza. For Iran, it is not part of the peace process anyway. This peace is about peace between Syria and Israel."

The Syrian president reiterated his stance that it was now, more than ever, "essential that the United States play a prominent and active role in the peace process," explaining that Syria required direct contact with U.S. President Barack Obama in order to advance the diplomatic process.

Assad also lauded the diplomatic efforts of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, saying that "Carter is most knowledgeable about the Middle East and he does not try to dictate or give sermons. He sincerely is trying to think creatively and find solutions that are outside the box."