Syrian President Bashar Assad "does not want peace, [he] just [wants] a peace process," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said during a live interview show on stage Saturday in Be'er Sheva. His statements are being interpreted as a response to a recent statement by Assad that peace talks with Israel have been suspended because there is currently "no partner" on the Israeli side.
"The Syrian president is aware that the price he will have to pay for peace will be to open up his regime to the West, and this could topple him," Ayalon said. "Through a peace process," he explained, "Assad is interested in taking his country out of international isolation and removing the pressure of the international community on him."
"If Assad truly wants peace, he should come to the negotiating table without preconditions," Ayalon said. "One cannot want peace and support Hizbullah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad and arm them."
Regarding Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's upcoming meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Ayalon said: "The alliance between us and the Americans is a natural one and we have common global interests like stopping the nuclear [military program] in Iran and Pakistan."
'We Need the U.S.'
When asked about coordination with the U.S. in case of an Israeli strike on Iran, Ayalon said that he does not believe such a strike will indeed materialize. In any case, he added – "I find it unimaginable that we would carry out an attack on Iran without American coordination. We need the U.S. logistically and also in order to defend us in the international arena afterwards."
However, Ayalon added, "The Americans, too, must understand the principle of mutuality" – and consult with Israel on matters, such as President Obama's upcoming speech on relations between the U.S. and the Arab world, which he is scheduled to make in Egypt in a fortnight's time.
Ayalon opined that it was still possible to block Iran's nuclear program through diplomacy. "Iran is a very weak country and it does not have a solid leg to stand on. They cannot withstand real sanctions; their banks and shipping companies are vulnerable. If the world just gets tough with them and implements sanctions, perhaps we will not need a military operation," he said.
Ayalon said that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is also his party boss in the Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home) faction, "says things courageously, although not always in a politically correct manner. He charts the course, he has the qualifications for being prime minister and I believe he will be prime minister in the future," he predicted.