SYRIA: A Syrian minister tells Michael Jansen in Damascus that there is no new pact with Iran
The Syrian minister of information, Dr Mehdi Dakhlalah, yesterday dismissed allegations that his country was in any way responsible for Monday's assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafiq Hariri.
The minister told The Irish Times: "Some people accuse Syria, a priori, for anything [ bad] that happens in the world, even for the tsunami. Syria has suffered a big loss in his death."
While the US has accused Syria of failing to impose security in Lebanon, the Lebanese anti-Syrian opposition, headed by the Druze leader, Mr Walid Jumblatt, has blamed Damascus directly for the massive car bombing which killed Hariri and 14 others.
In response to Washington's accusation, Dr Dakhlalah said it was impossible for any government to ensure complete security. He said: "Of course, US security forces were responsible for the security of the US at the time the September 11th [ 2001] events happened. In Damascus last year there were three big explosions."
The minister stated: "Hariri was one of the big enemies of the Israeli occupation and one of the best friends of Syria. It is very well known who will benefit from this."
The minister agreed that "the possibility of the destabilisation of Lebanon is much greater" following the death of Hariri.
Asked about reports that Syria and Iran had concluded a defence pact, Dr George Jabbour, a member of parliament and former presidential adviser, pointed out that the Iranian foreign minister, Mr Kamal Kharazzi, denied it yesterday.
"There is no new security pact, only co-operation and co-ordination," stated Dr Jabbour. "We have had good relations for the last 25 years. There are aspects concerning security which probably amount to more than a security pact."
A source confirmed this reading of the relationship, which developed during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), when Syria was the only Arab country to support Iran. Dr Dakhlalah accused Lebanese opposition groups of trying "to benefit from this event to win power".
"We hope that the Lebanese people will overcome this problem in order to ensure Lebanese stability."
He addressed himself to the growing list of complaints against Syria mentioned on Wednesday by the US Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice, by saying that "US pressure on Syria is old".
Ever since the Bush administration took power, it has stepped up pressure on Syria to end its support for the Lebanese Hizbullah movement, close down offices of Palestinian resistance groups in Damascus and pull its troops out of Lebanon.
Although Syria has taken some steps to limit the activities of these groups and has conducted five staged troop withdrawals from Lebanon, Washington has continued to call for full compliance with its demands. Dr Dakhlalah said that Syria would fully pull out once Lebanon's stability was assured.
Following the US occupation of Iraq, the administration also blamed Syria for allowing former regime figures based here to finance and direct Iraqi resistance operations and permitting militants to cross into Iraq.
Dr Dakhlalah said "no evidence" had been produced to substantiate these allegations.
He said Syria "did [ its] best to make the Iraqi election successful" by assisting the International Migration Organisation to stage out-of-country voting for the half million Iraqis now residing here.
Dr Jabbour was sharply critical of the US escalation of pressure on Syria.
"The investigation [of Hariri's killing] has not proved anyone guilty yet," he stated.
He also complained about the US accusation that "the Syrian army was an agent of instability in Lebanon".
Dr Jabbour characterised these declarations as "irresponsible" because they "encourage extremist groups in Lebanon" to work towards a "change in regime both there and here".
He concluded, gloomily: "I have the impression that the American statement on the assassination was written before the assassination took place."