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Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad attending the Annapolis conference on Tuesday. (Reuters)
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Syrian state-run newspaper: Non-comprehensive peace won't last
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent and Reuters
Tags: Golan Heights, Israel 

An editorial in a newspaper controlled by the Syrian regime said Wednesday that any peace agreement that is not comprehensive would be short-lived, just one day after participating in the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland.

"Peace, if its not comprehensive and on all tracks, is a deal that will collapse with the first gust of wind," said the editorial in the Syrian regime's official newspaper Tishrin.

According to Tishrin editor Issam Dari, "the Annapolis summit could be the American administration's last chance to prove its intentions."
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"We have great hopes for the awakening of the administration's conscience in its final hours of existence, which will rectify the serious failures of the American policy," wrote the newspaper.

"This conference is an opportunity to examine the seriousness of the American administration in peacemaking. The administration is able to do so if it has the will and determination."

The editorial criticized the focus on the Palestinian track, saying that it is a mistake to ignore other essential tracks in the peace process. "The U.S. is the strongest and most influential country in the international arena, and that bestows upon it the great responsibility to protect and preserve international peace and security."

The editorial concluded by saying the Annapolis conference organizers must understand that it presents an opportunity that will not repeat itself, especially due to the upcoming elections in the U.S. "What is necessary now is to act seriously in order to put the peace train back on track."

Syria says Israel ties only after withdrawal to Green Line border
Syria told the Annapolis peace conference on Tuesday that Israel should pull out of land captured in 1967 before Arab countries would normalize ties with it.

"The establishment of normal ties with Israel ... must be the fruit of
comprehensive peace and not precede it," Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister
Faisal al-Mekdad told a closed session of the U.S.-sponsored Middle East summit, attended by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"To phrase it clearly and decisively that this [normalization] comes after the total Israeli withdrawal from the 1967 Arab land," he said in a speech obtained by Reuters.

"We are sincere in seeking a comprehensive and just peace and posses the
political will to achieve it."

Talks between Israel and Syria collapsed in 2000 after Damascus declined an Israeli offer to withdraw from the Golan Heights, which it captured in the 1967 Six Day War, saying the Israeli offer did not encompass the full territory.

Syria had made it clear that it would only attend the talks in Annapolis if the Golan was on the agenda. The demand was met by Washington which accuses Damascus of supporting militant Palestinian and Lebanese groups.

Mekdad reiterated the Syrian position that Israeli occupation of Arab land was the root of instability in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia called on Tuesday for a quick start to Israeli peace talks with Syria and Lebanon following an announcement that Israeli-Palestinian negotiations would resume immediately.

"We have come to support the launching of serious and continuing talks
between the Palestinians and the Israelis that will address all the core and final status issues," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told the Annapolis conference.

"These talks must be followed by the launching of the Syrian and Lebanese
tracks at the earliest," he said, according to a copy of his remarks released by the Saudi embassy in Washington.

Leaders of the United States, Israel and the Palestinians agreed at the conference to start work immediately on reaching a peace treaty within 13 months that would create a Palestinian state.

Saudi Arabia, an Arab diplomatic heavyweight with close ties to the United States, is the driving force behind an Arab peace initiative offering Israel normal relations with all Arab states if it withdraws from all land it captured in 1967.

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      1.   Arabs Initiated Genocidal War in `67 - Land is thus Forfeited 06:13  |  Straight Talk 28/11/07
      2.   Golan Heights 06:23  |  Philippe 28/11/07
      3.   Syria`s new sitcom - episode 1 06:24  |  CK Tan 28/11/07
      4.   Syria`s assertion 07:31  |  Edifice 28/11/07
      5.   It may be crooked, but it`s the only game in town 08:04  |  Natallie Durson 28/11/07
      6.   SYRIA : A CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP IS NECESSARY 09:11  |  B.Heddem 28/11/07
      7.   Make it CLEAR TO SYRIA & THE WORLD 09:14  |  B`Galil 28/11/07
      8.   Straight talk, Israel started the war 09:40  |  ClearCut 28/11/07
      9.   Recognition of Israel comes at the end, not the beginning 09:48  |  Clickfool 28/11/07
      10.   Delusional 09:53  |  Ruby 28/11/07
      11.   Syrians should know better 09:57  |  Concerned citizen 28/11/07
      12.   How about, Not One Inch? 10:00  |  Efox 28/11/07
      13.   # 9 # SYRIA SHOULD RECOGNIZE ISRAEL AS A PRE CONDITION 2 ANYTHING 10:09  |  ¤¤¤ GRIM REAPER ¤¤¤ 28/11/07
      14.   Israel plays War and Peace with Syria 10:18  |  Natallie Durson 28/11/07
      15.   Don`t need peace with Syria 10:21  |  JR 28/11/07
      16.   germany started ww2.it was not annexed to u.k 10:34  |  get rid of it 28/11/07
      17.   Place your bets, ladies & gents, how long will this last? 10:44  |  Israeli 28/11/07
      18.   Clear `cut`?? 10:48  |  Israeli 28/11/07
      19.   #1, straight talk is not talking so straight 11:39  |  VIPER 28/11/07
      20.   #7, B.GALIL, you mean democraticly elected like hamas? 11:41  |  VIPER 28/11/07
      21.   Syria 12:13  |  Sabra 28/11/07
      22.   Clickfool and normalization 12:17  |  Sabra 28/11/07
      23.   Golan Heights - Never 12:20  |  Ros 28/11/07
      24.   Golan 12:42  |  Tina 28/11/07
      25.   to click 12:46  |  Tina 28/11/07
      26.   # 23 ros 13:11  |  Axel 28/11/07
      27.   #19 Viper..do you think this stupidity up on your own? 13:11  |  GrossedOut 28/11/07
      28.   For Sabra # 22 13:12  |  Clickfool 28/11/07
      29.   germany started ww2. big parts of germany were annexed 13:21  |  Vitaly 28/11/07
      30.   Would YOU buy a used car from Syria?? 13:25  |  Kenny 28/11/07
      31.   Syria doesn`t need Golan, Israel does 13:44  |  joki 28/11/07
      32.   o.k. vitaly,i agree but 13:54  |  get rid of it 28/11/07
      33.   arab world is delusional 13:59  |  real vision 28/11/07
      34.   Vitaly#29.... YOU ARE HALLUCINATING 14:02  |  TrippleJump 28/11/07
      35.   Just give it back 14:32  |  Daniel 28/11/07
      36.   Partly right 14:32  |  Murray 28/11/07
      37.   germany started ww2. ? 14:34  |  Dav 28/11/07
      38.   Clearcut: reports taken from contemporaneous newspapers 14:37  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 28/11/07
      39.   Israel to WITHDRAW from all Lands captured in 1967? 14:54  |  Dagma 28/11/07
      40.   SYRIA IS CTHE PROBLEM IN THE AREA,NOT ISRAEL. 14:59  |  Ian 28/11/07
      41.   Message #8 of Clearcut 15:04  |  Yitzhak 28/11/07
      42.   middle east process 15:06  |  R Nilsson 28/11/07
      43.   !967 - Why? 15:11  |  Duvdevan 28/11/07
      44.   UNSC 242 15:22  |  Murray 28/11/07
      45.   to Viper #20 - Hamas/PA is NOT democracy 15:24  |  B`Galil 28/11/07
      46.   return the golan when.... 16:38  |  utagawa 28/11/07
      47.   "Normal Relations with All Arab States?" 16:42  |  Dolly 28/11/07
      48.   Comprehensive Peace 16:43  |  Jeff Northridge 28/11/07
      49.   #28 Margie in TA 17:07  |  Boycott 28/11/07
      50.   JEW-HATERS WICKED LIE of Occupation. Restore STOLEN Jewish Land! 17:11  |  Linda Rivera 28/11/07
      51.   JEW-HATERS Ignore Justice for One Million JEWISH Refugees 17:14  |  Linda Rivera 28/11/07
      52.   To Murray # 44 _ `Free from Threats and acts of Force`... 17:19  |  Dagma 28/11/07
      53.   syria and the houris at work and ignorance 17:41  |  victor hardman 28/11/07
      54.   Boycott 18:06  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 28/11/07
      55.   #8 Clear Cut 18:19  |  * BEN JABO 28/11/07
      56.   Non-comprehensive peace will be painful, and wrong-headed 18:20  |  Tosefta 28/11/07
      57.   I agree, Dagma 18:23  |  Murray 28/11/07
      58.   yawn;US to cede texas + new mexico first 18:23  |  trumpeldor 28/11/07
      59.   Clickfool....arab states dont have credibility to pull that off 18:32  |  SHIMON 28/11/07
      60.   Syria/Iran Bait and Switch? We`ll See 18:44  |  dyinglikeflies 28/11/07
      61.   Moses libeated the Golan over 3000 yrs ago! 18:46  |  sam 28/11/07
      62.   Rabid JEW-HATERS Hate TRUTH. Muslims Already Have Arab Pal State 18:59  |  Linda Rivera 28/11/07
      63.   what I`d really be interested in 19:23  |  joki 28/11/07
      64.   Dagma (#39) 19:28  |  christoph 28/11/07
      65.   Syria is incapable of respecting its neighbors land, peace or not 19:28  |  Dr. L. Brnd 28/11/07
      66.   This is all just talk,Syria will never abandon its ties with Iran 19:45  |  lakshmi 28/11/07
      67.   Tosefta # 56 You Don`t Make Sense 19:47  |  Jeff Northridge 28/11/07
      68.   Arabs rae very good in being negative... 20:18  |  felix 28/11/07
      69.   The heretic Alawi minority dictators in Damascus won`t last eithe 20:24  |  Genuine Tosefta 28/11/07
      70.   #69 Genuine Tosefta 20:46  |  tbora 28/11/07
      71.   Jeff Northridge #67 21:06  |  Tosefta 28/11/07
      72.   To Christoff # 64 - The Arab League..... 21:27  |  Dagma 28/11/07
      73.   tbora just give the Pashtun NW Territories back to Afghanistan 21:53  |  Genuine Tosefta 28/11/07
      74.   For real Peace Arabs need to make painful compromises 21:57  |  Genuine Tosefta 28/11/07
      75.   Jeff to Tosefta: He makes perfect sense for a Syrian! 22:14  |  Jewboy 28/11/07
      76.   3 CK Tan,CK could you kindly oblige the readers and tell us which 22:20  |  lakshmi 28/11/07
      77.   Arabs compromise- give me everything 22:33  |  peter 28/11/07
      78.   SYRIA IS RIGHT 22:37  |  tobia 28/11/07
      79.