Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that overcoming long-term discord in Egyptian-Syrian political relations requires an Egyptian initiative.
"I haven't received an Egyptian official for nearly five years. Restoring relations needs initiatives which, sometimes, appear formal, but are still vital for political and diplomatic ties," Syria's president told al-Hayat newspaper. He stressed that visiting Egypt requires a prior invitation in light of the ruptured relations.
Asked whether relations with Egypt were personally sensitive on the presidential level, al-Assad replied, "Not for me, I did not ask Egypt for anything. Political disagreements are nothing new. For example, we rejected the Camp David agreement of 1979 and kept this position unchanged. We, Syrians, separate personal issues from inter-state relations, and the same goes for political and economic relations."
"Syrian ministers have visited Egypt recently, and an Egyptian delegation will also make a visit to Syria, and we are seeking to establish a joint committee," al-Assad added. "On the political level, there is much disagreement. The problem might be with Egyptian, not Syrian officials, and I cannot answer on behalf of Egyptians."
With regards to Saudi participation in efforts to mend relations, al-Assad said Saudi rapprochement attempts had been obvious at a quadripartite summit which Syria attended with King Abudllah of Saudi Arabia, the Emir of Kuwait, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Al-Assad said, however, Saudi efforts have not been followed up.
Al-Assad denied differences over Lebanese and Palestinian issues were possible reasons behind the rift. “What is really strange is that we in Syria do not know where the problem is, and that’s why I said I do not want anything from Egypt. For the picture to be complete, our brothers in Egypt should be asked what they want from Syria? Then we can get an answer.”
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
