Damascus Media Reaction: President Asad's Interview

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 001430 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/S:STHIBEAULT AND JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, DBENZE AND AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA RWINCHESTER WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC CENTCOM FOR CCPA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY SUBJECT: Damascus Media Reaction: President Asad's Interview with US PBS TV Network, Arab Summit, Palestine, Iraq ¶1. Summary: Syrian papers today led with President Asad's interview with the US PBS TV Network. All papers headlined President Asad's statement "We want to cooperate with the US Administration, and we can find common interests." The Khartoum Summit was the second focal topic in the Syrian papers, which reported president Asad's return to Syria after taking part in the summit and conducting a series of meetings with leaders, presidents and delegations: Sheikh Hamad Bin Khaleifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar; Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al- Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai; Sheikh Sef bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, UAE Minister of Interior; Sheikha Lubna al-Qasmi, the UAE Minister of Economy and Planning; Mr. Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Qarqawi, the UAE Minister of State for the Affairs of the Prime Ministry; Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas; and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah al- Saleh. Papers also featured Russian President Vladimir Putin's message to the summit calling for an end to all kinds of foreign intervention in Lebanese internal affairs and Syrian-Lebanese relations, pointing to the necessity of maintaining cooperation between them. Putin said that the Arab initiative launched in the Beirut Arab Summit of 2002 paved the way for realizing inter- related strategic goals, including "ending the occupation which has started in 1967, establishing a sovereign Palestinian state, and reviving the Mideast peace process from the point at which it stopped." He underlined the need to work with a spirit of partnership among all civilizations, starting from regional initiatives and taking into consideration the region's experiences and traditions. As for the Palestinian situation, the Russian President underscored the need to recognize the new facts resulting from the latest democratic Palestinian elections, pointing out that his country has started dialogue with Hamas, starting from this recognition and based on the position of the quartet. Regarding Iraq, Putin called for preservation of Iraq's unity, safety and territorial integrity and serious efforts to hinder its slide into civil war, "that can only be accomplished by an Iraqi national concord and ending the foreign military presence on Iraqi soil," he added. He committed to work hard to solve the Dafur issue and bring about peace in Sudan. "Russia intends to develop multilateral cooperation with the Arab League," Putin added, expressing confidence that cooperation between Russia and the Arab countries will be enhanced and expanded to serve all parties' interests. End of summary. ¶2. Selected Headlines: "President Asad gives an interview to the American PBS TV Network, addressing local, regional and international issues. President Asad: We would like to see peace, stability, prosperity and better standards of life in our country; we are going to play our role in the region, but we have many obstacles; some of them are related to us and nobody else; and some are related to the international situation; what we warned the USA and the world against before invading Iraq is happening now everyday; stability in Iraq serves our interests; every imported democracy is a failure; we want to cooperate with the US Administration, and we can find common interests" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 3/29) "The Khartoum Summit holds two closed-door sessions, discusses situations in Iraq, Palestine and Darfur. President Asad reviews with Arab leaders and heads of participating delegations recent developments and the situation in Iraq" (Government-owned Al- Thawra, 3/29) "President Putin addresses a message to the Arab summit discouraging foreign intervention in Lebanese internal affairs and Syrian-Lebanese relations" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 3/29) "The government of Prime Minister Hanieh wins the confidence of the Palestinian Legislative Council with a majority of 71 votes" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 3/29) "Israeli parties Kadima and Labor are neck to neck in the Israeli elections. ¶3. Editorial Block Quotes: -------------- "2006 No's" -------------- Abd-al-Fattah al-Awad, Chief Editor of government-owned Al- Thawra, wrote (3/29): "The Arab summit in Khartoum must be a summit of resolutions, not a summit of slogans.... "Convening the Arab summit, in itself, is important because it reflects commitment to the principle of Arab solidarity. But this is not enough. The summit must be a forum for implementing resolutions, not for making statements of condemnation and rejection.... "For example, the time has come for the expressions of support for the Palestinian people to turn into tangible actions. HAMAS now needs everyone to help it succeed. Arabs shoulder a big responsibility here, especially since HAMAS is the choice of the Palestinian people.... "The Iraqi file, which is susceptible to painful wounds, needs real action based on a solution that protects Iraq from division in a way that guarantees the departure of the occupation forces. If others are doing everything they can to divide Iraq -- land and people -- Arabs are required to make tremendous efforts to stop this...." -------------- "The Test" -------------- Isam Dari, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote (3/29): "The Arab situation today has changed since the Arab summit in Khartoum in 1967, which adopted strict anti-Israel resolutions.... "In the name of realism some Arabs adopted an approach that conflicted totally with the approach decided in Khartoum in 1967.... "But we understand realism to mean dealing with reality without relinquishing land, rights, and sanctities, and without raising the white flag and saying loudly and publicly that we have been defeated only because our enemy is stronger than we are and is protected by a superpower that defends it and prevents the United Nations from punishing or condemning it.... "In Khartoum today Arabs face a new test for their will and resolve. Passing this test is more than a pressing need. Failure is inadmissible under any pretext. The Arab scene, from Iraq to Palestine to Lebanon, needs no explanations, interpretations, or analyses. The Arab nation is under siege, facing extremely dangerous challenges. The Arab peoples, who aspire to the highest level of solidarity, cohesion, and unity, might become content with the lowest level of Arab solidarity. But neither the Arab peoples nor history will be merciful, if we fail this test or if anyone of us tries to go a single step below this lowest level. We have great hopes in the leaders of the nation and the new summit in Khartoum...." -------------- "Rice's New Expectation" -------------- Bassam Radwan, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen, wrote (3/29): "US Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice stated that a big reduction of American troops in Iraq is likely to be made this year or next in view of the fact that the Iraqi forces are making progress in controlling the country.... "The departure of foreign forces from Iraq is the starting point for fraternal Iraq to recover ... its sovereignty and stability after its destruction by an aggressive war machine and after loss of its independence in an illegitimate war launched on the basis of completely false pretexts. "The true reason for the expected US withdrawal, however, is the fierce resistance by Iraqis.... The New York Times revealed that President Bush informed British Prime Minister Tony Blair that he was determined to invade Iraq whether or not the country had WMD.... This means that the head of the British government bears the same ethical, legal, and historical responsibility as the American president and his administration for the major crime and its destructive results for Iraq, the region, and world peace generally...." Seche