Syria wants Lebanon in Israel peace talks

The Syrian deputy foreign minister said in remarks published Wednesday that Damascus wants Lebanon to join in any peace talks with Israel.

"The Syrian and Lebanese tracks have not separated and the reason is very clear," Waleed al-Mualem told Syria's Al Thawra and Kuwait's al-Anbaa newspapers in a joint interview.

"When we negotiate with…Israel…together we can achieve better results."

The Syrian deputy foreign minister voiced his confidence that Lebanon would not sign any separate peace with Israel under U.S. influence.

"Lebanon has a choice now: either the American direction, which means Israel -- a remote possibility because of what we know of the Lebanese people -- or the Arab direction. Syria will be the bridge for Lebanon in the Arab direction," he said.

Syria withdrew its forces from Lebanon last April following intense international pressure after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in February.

In the past, Syria has always opposed any separate peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel and Mualem maintains that such an agreement was the real agenda behind the passing of Security Council resolution 1559, whose demands were partly fulfilled by the end of Syria's 29-year military presence in Lebanon.

The resolution also calls for the dismantling of all groups in Lebanon, mainly that of Hezbollah.

"This resolution aims at setting Lebanon for a partial settlement with Israel such as that of May 17, 1983, but a wide majority of the Lebanese people still stand to say that Lebanon will be the last Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel," Mualem said.

In 1983 Lebanon, while still under Israeli occupation in the southern region, signed a U.S.-brokered peace accord with Israel, but abrogated it the following year after an uprising by Lebanese groups.

Mualem reiterated that Syria was willing to renew peace talks with Israel but said the Jewish state was not interested.

Israel has dismissed Syrian calls for the resumption of talks that faltered in 2000 over the future of Golan Heights, under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Middle East war.