16 December 2002
Prime Minister:
Good Afternoon everyone. I would like to welcome President Assad and his wife to Downing Street. We have had a very good and interesting discussion between us. We have discussed obviously bilateral issues and between the two countries in particular how Britain can help with the continuing change and reform programme in Syria, not least to do with information technology and with the banking system there, and we have discussed various ways that we can take that forward.
Secondly, obviously we have discussed the international situation, and of course, as you will be well aware, there are differences in view and emphasis about this, and we don’t disguise those. On the other hand, it is good that both Syria and Britain backed the resolution in respect of Iraq. We all of us want to see the Middle East process resolved in a way that allows Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side together in peace and we recognise that Syria has as much to gain as anyone from success in the fight against international terrorism. As I say, we do not hide where we disagree, those disagreements are obvious and clear, but I believe that a process of engagement with Syria is the right way forward.
And once again I thank President Assad for accepting the invitation to come here and to have the talks with me.
President Assad:
I thank Mr Tony Blair for his invitation for me to be today in Britain and I am very happy to be in a country in which I had lived for two years and in which I closely got to know British citizens, in which I knew closely on a daily basis the lives of British citizens, the fact that created mutual respect and courtesy between us. We conducted realistic and constructive talks and as the Prime Minister, Mr Blair, has indicated, we discussed the three current issues: Iraq, the peace process and terrorism. Also as the Prime Minister has mentioned, it is very natural that countries should have some differences according to their positions, their interests and their culture, but we were in agreement on most basic issues.
The basic point which we stressed is the implementation of United Nations resolutions regarding all issues. As for the issue of terrorism, Syria is known for its fight against terrorism for the last decade, and not just for the last few years. As a country that has the experience and rejects terrorism, we put our experience at the disposal of any country which seriously wants to fight terrorism.
Once again I would like to thank the Prime Minister, Mr Blair, for his invitation and I would like to stress to you that our talks are going to push forcefully forward the relations between Syria and the UK, in addition to the warm personal relations I enjoy with Mr Blair.
Question:
President Assad, the British government has made clear that it would like you to crack down on groups based in Damascus that have supported suicide bombers in Israel. Are you willing to do that and give us a public assurance about that now? And Prime Minister, why have you sought to engage Syria at this point? What help do you think Syria could give with regard to the crisis, any war in Iraq?
President Assad:
Of course we don’t have in Syria what is called organisations supporting terrorism; we have press offices. These press offices represent Palestinians who live in Syria and Palestinians who live in Palestine. About 4 million Palestinians live in different Arab countries and a few million live in the occupied territories. These offices express the opinions of Palestinians inside Palestine and outside Palestine, and the Palestinians have the right to have someone to express their opinion. But resolving this issue, I think we had better address the problem rather than speak about idioms and terminology. The solution for the problem is to implement United Nations resolutions regarding the peace process. As for the usage of terminology and idiom, we could agree with you or we could disagree with you regarding many idioms. The reason could be geographical distance, different culture, but in the region they are called press offices and they are not called terrorist organisations.
Prime Minister:
Look, there are obviously going to be differences between us and we condemn totally anybody who is engaged in terrorist activity of any sort at all wherever in the world. I do however believe that it is important to engage with Syria because Syria is going to be an important part of building a peaceful and stable future in the Middle East, and no matter what the level of our disagreement, it is still important that we continue that dialogue. And I believed that when I went to Damascus a year ago, I believe that still today.
Question:
Mr Prime Minister, the general impression in the Arab world is that you personally support President Bush in launching a war against Iraq. On the other hand, some British sources leaked the information that you were able to persuade President Bush to seek a political solution through the United Nations. Where is your real and true stand, Mr Prime Minister?
Prime Minister:
Well my stand is very, very simple indeed. It is that we both must deal with weapons of mass destruction because they are a serious issue threatening the security of the world. And we have to do so through the United Nations route that we are pursuing, and at the same time we have to do everything we can to push forward the process in the Middle East. The thing I would say passionately to people in the Arab world today is, you don’t have to choose between dealing with the threat that Iraq poses with weapons of mass destruction and dealing with the question of the Palestinians and the Middle East peace process, we should actually be dealing with both issues, we should be strong against international terrorism, strong against weapons of mass destruction, and equally strong in making sure there is justice, based on the two state solution, for people in the Middle East.
Question:
Prime Minister, can I ask you, from what you have seen of the Iraqi dossier, do you believe like the Americans that Saddam Hussein is in breach of United Nations resolutions and that war is now looking inevitable? And if I may, a similar question to President Assad, if Saddam Hussein is found to be in breach, would you then back military action?
Prime Minister:
Well our position is very clear again. On the report, we simply have to study it, we have not completed our study yet and we will obviously await the findings and statement also of Dr Blix and the inspectors. In respect of the United Nations’ position, the United Nations’ position is clear: there is now a mandate given to the inspectors and the inspectors should be allowed to carry out their work. And we have made it clear that if there is a breach then action should follow.
President Assad:
Of course generally speaking I don’t think anybody is looking for war, whatever the reason might be. Anybody who looks for war as a purpose in itself has a problem. And therefore the basic thing is to try and take precautionary measures rather than trying to address the situation afterwards. First, we have a clear Security Council resolution and this encompasses the resolutions that were passed before it. We have to pursue the implementation of this resolution. Syria voted for the resolution, the UK voted for the resolution, along with other countries as well. What this means is of course to give the opportunity to the inspectors to do their job properly. I don’t think our job is to expect or not to expect, but I am optimistic now. Until now what we have seen is good co-operation from the Iraqi government, we hope this co-operation will continue until this crisis is solved peacefully.
Question:
Prime Minister, you have recently called for a peace conference on the Middle East, but however there was no reference in that important statement of yours of the Arab initiative that the Arabs approved in Beirut. So do you think combining your offer of the conference along with the Arab initiative, could provide a well established and successful framework for a Middle East solution in the region?
Prime Minister:
I think the initiative which began with the statement of Crown Prince Abdullah, and the speech of President Bush, come together in this way, that everybody now recognises that ultimately the only solution in the Middle East is the two-state solution - Israel confident of its security, a viable Palestinian state and all of it based on the United Nations resolutions that apply to everybody. And so I think that in a sense there is a way in which all these different initiatives can come together because the basic principles seem to me to be accepted all round and I think that is very important.
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