Military force won't stop illegal weapons entering Lebanon: Assad

"If a real will exists to introduce illegal weapons (into Lebanon), neither UN resolutions nor military deployment will be able to stop" their entry, the Syrian leader told Spain's daily El Pais newspaper Sunday.

He described efforts by both Syrian troops and United Nations peacekeepers to stop the movement of contraband arms destined for Hezbollah as "a waste of time."

European and UN forces are tasked to maintain a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah after this summer's war.

Moreover, Assad said, controlling arms trafficking to Lebanon "does not tackle the central question" of establishing peace in the restive country.

"What's missing (in Lebanon) is a state in which all Lebanese consider themselves represented," the Syrian president told El Pais. "If that's accomplished, it will then be possible" to disarm Hezbollah.

"The only solution," Assad added, "is if all the interested parties have confidence in Syria."

"The Americans need to talk to us to understand us, to know who we are and what we want," Assad said, adding that Washington "needs the Europeans to better understand the region."

The United States, along with France, have isolated Syria as a way to push the country into cooperating with an inquiry into the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

With thousands of troops deployed in Lebanon at the time, Syria exerted tremendous influence in the country's politics. It withdrew its troops in April 2005, ending a 29-year military domination of the country.

But following a short trip to Damascus in August, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos suggested Syria should be "put back in the international game."

A number of analysts also believe that no long-term solution to the crisis between Israel and Hezbollah is possible without diplomatic support from Syria, which maintains considerable influence in Lebanon.

Source

About headlines and content that has changed after it was added to this site - see disclaimer here

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.