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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/world/middleeast/29syria.html
Syrians See an Economic Side to Peace
[New York Times] Nawara Mahfoud and Robert F. Worth - Like most Syrians, Samer Zayat, 35, a television cinematographer, has no love for Israel. Yet he says he views a peace deal with Israel as necessary and inevitable because Syria's vulnerable economy needs all the help it can get. That sentiment is echoed by many others. The oil reserves Syria has relied on for so long are rapidly disappearing. A country that could once afford to be serenely indifferent to Western sanctions is now being forced to liberalize and open its economy. However, it is far from clear if the Syrian government sees economic troubles as a factor in negotiations with Israel.