Syria Sets Conditions for Role in Peace Talks
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad yesterday rejected his nation’s participation in U.S.-brokered talks on Middle East peace unless issues critical to Damascus, such as the Golan Heights, are included.
Syria’s first high-level statement on the peace talks, planned for next month, may be an attempt to widen discussions aimed largely at a deal between Israel and the Palestinians. But Assad’s rejection also could play into the Bush administration’s preference that Syria not attend unless it moderates its position on several issues, U.S. analysts said.
In a rare interview with the BBC, Assad also for the first time confirmed an Israeli airstrike in northern Syria on Sept. 6, asserting that warplanes hit an unoccupied military compound. Syria reserves the right to retaliate and still is considering how to respond, he said.
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