(Ha'aretz) Gideon Alon - Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told the Knesset Wednesday it was time "the whole world takes it upon itself to get Syria out of Lebanon." The Syrian army has occupied Lebanon since 1976. "A million Syrians work in Lebanon and the thriving Lebanese narcotics industry is intended solely for the purposes of the Syrian Ba'ath people," Shalom said. "The U.S. is demanding that Syria fulfill its commitments to Secretary of State Colin Powell in his visit to Damascus in May 2003, including dismantling the terror headquarters, closing the training camps, stopping the arms to Hizballah, and closing the joint border between Syria and Iraq," he said. Shalom called on Syria to come to negotiations with Israel without prior conditions. "We will test Syria's readiness for peace talks by its conduct, and not its statements," he said.
2004-01-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive