Syria Denies Unanimous Arab Accord For Indirect Palestine-Israel Talks

Syria’s Foreign Minister, Walid al-Moallem, refuted Wednesday a statement by Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa that the “Arab Peace Initiative Committee (APIC) unanimously agreed on the conducting of indirect Palestinian-Israeli negotiations,” reports the Syrian state news agency SANA.

“What has been said by Moussa is not precise, and no consensus existed; the Syrian delegation in the meeting has not agreed on clause 4, which speaks of a new opportunity for indirect Palestinian-Israeli negotiations,” said Minister al-Moallem, chairman of the Syrian Delegation to the 133rd session of Arab League Ministerial Council, according to SANA.

According to that same article Al-Moallem stressed that Syria is “no way part of such a drive”, adding that it “was not APIC’s mission to give such authorizations.”

SANA additionally reported that Youssef al-Ahmad, Syria’s permanent representative to the Arab League warned that such “authorization” would add a “form of legality to the Israeli measures in the occupied Arab territories.”

al-Ahmad said, according to SAB that during the opening of Arab Foreign Ministers Session held today and APIC’s yesterday, there was the impression that the goal of the meeting was to give an Arab authorization for “the already-taken Palestinian decision as to go for indirect negotiations with no guarantees.”

“Arab conditions are not as we want them to be, or as the Arab Nation wants,” Syria’s Foreign Minister, Walid al-Moallem said.