Syrian-Saudi Summit to Be Held in Riyadh on Wednesday

"There is a difference between a peace agreement and peace itself. A peace agreement is a piece of paper you sign. This does not mean trade and normal relations, or borders, or otherwise," he pointed out.

"Our people will not accept that, especially since there are half a million Palestinians in our country whose position remains unresolved," the Syrian President emphasized. "It is impossible under these terms to have peace in the natural sense," he explained.

As for negotiations with the new "Israeli" government soon to be formed in "Israel", the Syrian president said he did not see any real difference between the Left and the Right in the Zionist entity. "They're all the same," he declared. "On the issue of rights there is no bad and worse. The rights must be returned to their owners. The Right is the Right and the Left is the Right. The Right kills Arabs and the Left kills Arabs and there's no value to all these references," he explained.

"When people talk to us about this issue we say there is a basis for the peace process, and whoever comes to "Israel" on this basis, we will negotiate with them. There is no value to the talks on the Right and the Left."

Asked about reports from before "Israel"'s deadly offensive in Gaza that Jerusalem and Damascus had prepared for Turkish-mediated direct talks, Assad denied the agreement on a meeting was true. "How are we supposed to jump to the end of the road when we have yet to finish the fundamental issues related to the direct negotiations, and particularly to the return of territory and to the signing of an agreement?" he wondered.

Assad said it was in the Palestinians' interests to coordinate with Damascus over its peace talks with the Zionist entity to avoid "Israel" putting off a resolution with the Palestinians. "We believe that if "Israel" signs a peace agreement with Syria, "Israel" will put away the Palestinian question," he said.

As for the possibility of meeting with the "Israeli" prime minister, Assad noted that such meeting could only take place after a final agreement is signed and the withdrawal is carried out fully. "Only then we'll be able to think about it, and we're not saying yes in advance," he said.

He referred to the indirect Turkish-mediated talks as "feeling the pulse" and said this was done "due to our lack of trust in the "Israeli" government and as a result of the acts of aggression in Gaza and Lebanon."

During the indirect talks, he said, "we separated between drawing the borders and describing the borders. Drawing the line is the final thing, but describing it is the definition of several points," he said. "We chose six points in certain places, like Lake Kinneret and the Jordan River, in order to be convinced of how serious "Israel" was. "Israel" evaded this as usual and provided vague definitions," he added.

Assad accused "Israel" of "foot-dragging," and called for a "clear dialogue" between Damascus and Jerusalem. He said that outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had told Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that "Israel" would "continue contacts" with Syria, and then "started a war in Gaza."

NO GUARANTEES HARIRI TRIBUNAL WON'T BE POLITICIZED

Meanwhile, Assad said there were no guarantees that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will not be politicized. "If the United Nations and the Security Council do not carry out their duties, do you expect small institutions stemming from them to work independently?" Assad ridiculed. "There are no guarantees. But if politicization exists, Lebanon would be the first to pay the price," Assad said, adding that he hoped the court would not be politicized.

Turning to the issue of upcoming Lebanese elections, Assad believed the polls "would not bring stability."
"Lebanon lives on consensus and explodes in the absence of harmony," Assad stressed. "Consensus brings stability," he concluded. "The winning side in elections could either take Lebanon toward consensus or vise versa."