Almanar
04/02/2010 Speaking during a business conference at Bar-Ilan University on Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, "Whoever thinks (Israeli) territorial concessions will separate Syria from the axis of evil is mistaken. Syria must be made to understand that it has to relinquish its demand (that Israel cede) the Golan Heights."
Lieberman added that President Assad must realize that if he "provokes" Israel his regime will collapse.
On Wednesday Syrian President Bashar Assad accused Israel of “pushing the region towards war”. During a meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos in Damascus, Assad said that the Jewish state "is not serious about achieving peace”.
The SANA news agency reported that the two officials spoke of regional issues and the “standstill peace process”. Assad told Moratinos, whose country is the current EU president, that “Israel is not serious about achieving peace and all facts point to it being the one pushing the region towards war and not peace”.
Assad spoke just hours after his foreign minister, Walid Mouallem, said that "Israel knows that if it declares war on Syria, such a war will reach its cities as well."
The Syrian minister was responding to remarks made by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak earlier this week. Speaking at a forum of senior Israeli army commanders, Barak said a full-blown war with Syria was possible in case a peace agreement is not reached.
Lieberman said Mouallem's remarks constitute a "blatant threat against Israel," adding, "(Syria) has crossed a red line; and we cannot ignore this."
Addressing the Iranian threat, the foreign minister called Tehran the "root of the problem." "I don’t even want to think what the price of oil will be when Iran will have a (nuclear) bomb. There is also the fear that Iranian (nuclear) weapons will reach extremist groups," he said.
"The international community must make some clear decisions. There are no more excuses," Lieberman said.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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