["Midday Guest" programme, featuring an interview with Syrian Information Minister Muhsin Bilal, via satellite from Damascus, by Hasan Jammul and Luna al-Shibl in the studio - live]
Qatari government-funded, pan-Arab news channel Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 19 July carries live in its "Midday Guest" programme a 10-minute interview with Syrian Information Minister Muhsin Bilal, via satellite from Damascus, by Hasan Jammul and Luna al-Shibl in the studio.
Asked if he thinks the "isolation" imposed on Damascus for over three years is over now, he says: "I think all viewed Syria, represented by its President Bashar al-Asad, as the bright star of the Union for the Mediterranean summit in Paris. The term isolation was not accepted by anyone in Syria. Syria has always exercised its Arab and international duties very successfully as proven by Syria's success in holding the 20th Arab summit in Damascus and the attendance of all Arabs." He adds: "Therefore, Syria has not been isolated from the world. On the contrary, it has always been in the heart of the world. It has always been an active player in the international arena. His Excellency President Bashar al-Asad was the bright star during the Paris summit."
Asked if Damascus expects ties with the United States to improve after the upcoming US elections and advent of a new administration, he says: "The demise of this administration is in sight. The world is waiting for the upcoming US elections in the hope that an administration that better understands the world, that is open to peace, that abandons the narrow-minded war mentality, and that stops avoiding dialogue with peoples and countries will come. Therefore, the issue of peace and negotiations over Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories is postponed until the advent of the new US Administration."
On Syria's relations with Saudi Arabia and Egypt, he says: "Relations among brothers in the Arab world may be warm or cool. Relations are now lukewarm. Syria is ready and willing to heal the Arab rift. This is the plan of His Excellency President Al-Asad, who is the current president of the Arab summit." He adds that the Syrian president is planning to visit the Arab capitals "to heal the Arab rift, reunite the Arabs, and implement the Arab summit resolutions." He then says "if there is a problem, Syria will certainly not be the side that is responsible for it."
Asked if Al-Asad will visit Riyadh or Cairo in the near future, he says: "President Al-Asad's agenda includes visits to all Arab capitals in his capacity as president of the Arab summit. These visits are aimed at healing the Arab rift, reuniting the Arabs, and reviving Arab solidarity."
When told that the French foreign minister was quoted as saying Riyadh was not pleased with French "openness on Damascus" and asked if Syria will "open up on the Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Egypt," he says: "What Minister Kouchner said was correct. That was their opinion. We do our best to visit and meet with them and reunite the Arabs, especially since Syria is currently the president of the Arab summit. Therefore, it acts as head of the summit and is ready to visit all Arab capitals and meet with all Arab leaders and brothers."
Asked if improving ties with Saudi Arabia and Egypt depends on the next US Administration, he says: "Arab brotherhood, Arab solidarity, and healing the Arab rift are all internal Arab affairs that concern the Arab family. I do not think any foreign administration has the right to interfere in this purely internal issue."
On the date diplomatic ties between Syria and Lebanon will be exchanged, he says: "There is absolutely no problem or obstruction from our side. On the contrary, this issue has been proposed by Syria and its president since 2005. Syria does all that fulfils the needs of the brothers in Lebanon. It does all that satisfies Lebanon, restores its national unity, and strengthens the new Lebanese situation, including the national unity government and new presidency under the leadership of President Michel Sulayman. Syria is ready to extend to the brothers in Lebanon, which is a sisterly and neighbouring twin country, all that defuses tension in Lebanon. We have absolutely no problem in this regard."
Finally asked if Syria still has problems with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, he says: "We deal with Lebanon as a sisterly twin country that has its own constitution and entity. Consequently, its relations with Syria are relations between brothers. There is a higher council for coordination and cooperation between Lebanon and Syria. Syrian Foreign Minister Al-Mu'allim will convey an invitation to the Lebanese president to visit Syria." He adds that Syria will give the Lebanese president a good reception and "Syria has no problem with any person in Lebanon because they are our kinfolk, brothers, and part of our family."
Source: Al-Jazeera TV, Doha, in Arabic 1330 gmt 19 Jul 08
Showing posts with label Mediteranean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mediteranean. Show all posts
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Thursday, 10 July 2008
World briefing Club Med is flawed but it might just work
Those who believe that Nicolas Sarkozy is a bit of a show-off may have their suspicions confirmed this weekend when the French president welcomes about 40 heads of government, including all the EU's leaders, to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris for the extravagant launch of his pet project, the so-called "Union for the Mediterranean".
The idea is to create a permanent institutional link between Europe and all countries with Mediterranean coastlines, including such odd bedfellows as Israel, Palestine, Syria and Libya. The hope is that the union will boost economic and security cooperation. The party will continue into Bastille Day on Monday.
Critics - and there are many - say Sarkozy's " grand projet" , dubbed "Club Med" in some quarters, is a vainglorious attempt to increase French influence in a region it has manipulated and exploited since Napoleonic times. They say Sarkozy is merely trying to boost his own battered standing and France's EU presidency, which got off to the worst possible start when Ireland rejected the Lisbon treaty, or build a virtual Maginot line across North Africa to repel illegal immigrants.
Algeria, which fought a bloody war to rid itself of French control, has been among the more sceptical participants. Like other Arab countries involved, it has warned that the new organisation should not be "a cover for a creeping normalisation of relations with Israel".
Muammar Gadafy, Libya's leader, is boycotting the summit, though he will send an observer. "This project is frightening, it is dangerous. I predict it will be a complete failure," he said this week. Gadafy said Islamists in North Africa would view the union as a form of revived colonialism and use it to justify stepped-up jihadi attacks.
Germany and other European states have also had their problems with the union. Sarkozy initially envisaged restricting membership to countries touching the Mediterranean sea. Germany and Britain would have been excluded, even though their EU budget contributions would have helped pay for it. Concern was also raised about its impact on the EU's unity and identity.
Sarkozy's officials deny sharp practice, boasting instead that France has "produced a complete reform of a major EU policy in only one year". But they have shifted ground. The union will now include all 27 EU states and its lineal connection to an earlier, less grandiose Mediterranean initiative, the Spanish-led Barcelona Process, has been more fully acknowledged. "It's now a much more modest project than Sarkozy expected and wanted. It has been diluted," a Spanish diplomatic source said. "We support it. But making it work will be very difficult."
That view is shared across northern Europe. Analysts say trying to squeeze agreed, effective policies out of so large and disparate a grouping will be a Sisyphean task - and that Sarkozy risks being flattened under his over-large rock. "It's true that these days people in Europe worry less about the east and more about the south," said Michael Howard, the distinguished Oxford historian. "But it [the union] is a bit like trying to herd cats."
Yet even if the new organisation, which will have a secretariat and co-presidency, is destined to be largely a talking shop, that may not be wholly a bad thing. The inaugural meeting will provide an exceptional opportunity for bilateral discussions between leaders whose paths rarely cross. They include Syria's Bashar al-Assad and Israel's Ehud Olmert, both of whom are expected to attend. The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Egyptian and Algerian presidents are also said to be coming.
Speculation is rife that the indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria mediated by Turkey could now be followed by a face-to-face meeting in Paris of the two countries' leaders. That would be a symbolic first. Needless to say, it would also be presented by the Elysee as a masterful diplomatic coup for France's showman president.
The idea is to create a permanent institutional link between Europe and all countries with Mediterranean coastlines, including such odd bedfellows as Israel, Palestine, Syria and Libya. The hope is that the union will boost economic and security cooperation. The party will continue into Bastille Day on Monday.
Critics - and there are many - say Sarkozy's " grand projet" , dubbed "Club Med" in some quarters, is a vainglorious attempt to increase French influence in a region it has manipulated and exploited since Napoleonic times. They say Sarkozy is merely trying to boost his own battered standing and France's EU presidency, which got off to the worst possible start when Ireland rejected the Lisbon treaty, or build a virtual Maginot line across North Africa to repel illegal immigrants.
Algeria, which fought a bloody war to rid itself of French control, has been among the more sceptical participants. Like other Arab countries involved, it has warned that the new organisation should not be "a cover for a creeping normalisation of relations with Israel".
Muammar Gadafy, Libya's leader, is boycotting the summit, though he will send an observer. "This project is frightening, it is dangerous. I predict it will be a complete failure," he said this week. Gadafy said Islamists in North Africa would view the union as a form of revived colonialism and use it to justify stepped-up jihadi attacks.
Germany and other European states have also had their problems with the union. Sarkozy initially envisaged restricting membership to countries touching the Mediterranean sea. Germany and Britain would have been excluded, even though their EU budget contributions would have helped pay for it. Concern was also raised about its impact on the EU's unity and identity.
Sarkozy's officials deny sharp practice, boasting instead that France has "produced a complete reform of a major EU policy in only one year". But they have shifted ground. The union will now include all 27 EU states and its lineal connection to an earlier, less grandiose Mediterranean initiative, the Spanish-led Barcelona Process, has been more fully acknowledged. "It's now a much more modest project than Sarkozy expected and wanted. It has been diluted," a Spanish diplomatic source said. "We support it. But making it work will be very difficult."
That view is shared across northern Europe. Analysts say trying to squeeze agreed, effective policies out of so large and disparate a grouping will be a Sisyphean task - and that Sarkozy risks being flattened under his over-large rock. "It's true that these days people in Europe worry less about the east and more about the south," said Michael Howard, the distinguished Oxford historian. "But it [the union] is a bit like trying to herd cats."
Yet even if the new organisation, which will have a secretariat and co-presidency, is destined to be largely a talking shop, that may not be wholly a bad thing. The inaugural meeting will provide an exceptional opportunity for bilateral discussions between leaders whose paths rarely cross. They include Syria's Bashar al-Assad and Israel's Ehud Olmert, both of whom are expected to attend. The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Egyptian and Algerian presidents are also said to be coming.
Speculation is rife that the indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria mediated by Turkey could now be followed by a face-to-face meeting in Paris of the two countries' leaders. That would be a symbolic first. Needless to say, it would also be presented by the Elysee as a masterful diplomatic coup for France's showman president.
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