Assad: Nothing Can Distance Syria from Iran

Source: Al-Manar TV, 18-9-2008
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday that efforts by enemies to damage Damascus' strategic and robust relations with Iran are to no avail, stressing that the West's recent pressure on Iran and Syria has strengthened the two states and united them in their decisions against the West's goals.
Speaking to an Iranian television channel, Assad noted that "the strategic relations between Iran and Syria are based on shared principles and interests," adding that the only situation that would distance Syria from Iran is when the latter "stands beside "Israel" and the United States supports Syria."
The Syrian President praised Iran's support for Arab states' opposition and resistance to the Zionist entity, particularly that of Syria. He underscored the common stance of Tehran and Damascus in their support for the Islamic resistance in Lebanon and Palestine. "The achievements of the resistance over the past decade and its victory over the "Israeli" regime are the result of Tehran-Damascus strategic relations," Assad highlighted.
SYRIA AND "ISRAEL" ARE NOT NEGOTIATING
Assad also noted that what was taking place between Damascus and Tel Aviv could not be considered negotiations, but a Turkish mediation similar to that carried out by former US Secretary of State James Baker during the Madrid Conference in 1991. "The term 'negotiation' is not an exact description," Assad said, adding that it's rather an effort to set the stage for the initiation of negotiations. "We are not sure about "Israel's" intention in returning the Golan Heights to Syria; therefore, we remain distanced from the negotiations. We can't confirm that "Israel" is withdrawing from the occupied Golan Heights yet," he said.
US PLANS FOR REGION IN VAIN
Assad also criticized US interference and war-mongering policies in the Middle East over the past seven years. "US plans for the region are in vain because they are alienated from the culture and realities of the Middle East," he said, adding that it was impossible for the (US President George) Bush administration to accomplish anything in terms of Middle East negotiations this year.
Assad told the interviewer that Damascus rejected bargaining on foreign forces in the Middle East because they would lose. "When I said in July 2007 that the future of the region would be determined in a few months, I knew that failing powers, primarily the US, would play their last cards, which would either be winning or losing," he noted, but added that "today, after 14 months, it has been proved that they are speedily moving from one failure to another, and the US administration is leaving. They neither changed their principles nor political discourse."
IRAN ENTITLED TO USE NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY
On Iran's nuclear issue, the Syrian President asserted that the Islamic Republic was absolutely entitled to use nuclear technology for civilian uses. "The West claims that it distrusts Iran's guarantees," he said, adding that the West should bear in mind that confidence-building measures are a mutual undertaking. "This mistrust should not stop Iran's scientific activities," he said.