Neither Syria Nor Saudi Arabia Would Form Lebanese Cabinet
Syrian President Bashar Assad has reiterated that the formation of the cabinet in Beirut is the "responsibility of the Lebanese" and stressed no regional country would form the government.
Neither Syria nor Saudi Arabia nor the summit that brought the two countries” leaders together last month "would form the national unity cabinet in Lebanon," Assad told As Safir newspaper on the sidelines of a meeting with journalists who accompanied the Syrian president to Croatia.
Assad also told reporters that Syria "wants to improve Arab-Arab ties."
"Relations with Saudi Arabia are good and there is Syrian-Saudi cooperation," the Syrian president added.
Turning to the U.S., Assad said President Barack Obama”s administration has replaced the orders of his predecessor”s era with "dialogue" but there is still room for an improvement in relations.
"What has happened so far is a new approach. Dialogue has replaced commands, which is good, but things stopped there," he said. "It is hard to say that big steps have been taken in bilateral relations."
On the peace process, Assad said that the Obama administration could not be blamed for the deadlock in Middle East peace efforts.
"The current Israeli government does not want peace. There is no partner for peace in Israel. The (U.S.) broker can therefore not do anything or be blamed if the Israeli side does not want peace," he said.