LOC14:35
11:35 GMT
BEIRUT, March 25 (KUNA) -- Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said the former
presence of Syrian forces in Lebanon aimed to protect the country from
division and civil war.
In an interview with Al-Safeer Lebanese newspaper published Wednesday,
Al-Assad said that Syrian forces were not in Lebanon to protect Lebanese
figures or to preserve security.
He said the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri
targeted Syria, emphasizing the Damascus had no security information on the
killing.
He stressed that Damascus and Al-Hariri did not have conflicts on
resistance, Arabism, or relations with Syria, saying that the international
court on Lebanon was a Lebanese issue.
The Syrian President highlighted that his country supported Lebanese
President Michel Suleiman.
He pointed out that Arab countries had the right to have different vision,
stressing that it was not logical to be identical.
He also said relations among Arab countries were changing to the better and
that it was important to improve the Egyptian-Qatari ties.
Meanwhile, Al-Assad noted that he supported the Palestinian reconciliation
and said that Israel was not ready for real negotiations.
The 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon changed the region and will have an
impact on any peace negotiations in any state, he added.
He said that his country's relations with Iran were "strategic" and
emphasized on the importance of Iraq's unity. (end)
ah.ris
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