Al-Shara: Trump Supports Our Stance on Israel's Withdrawal to Pre-December 8 Borders

SadaNews: Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara stated that he will maintain the right of Syrians to demand the prosecution of deposed President Bashar al-Assad, indicating that U.S. President Donald Trump supports the Syrian perspective regarding Israel's withdrawal from the territories it occupied after December 8 of last year.

In an interview with the American newspaper "The Washington Post," in response to a question about plans to protect Syrian sovereignty from internal and external forces, Shara replied, "Syria has been at war with Israel for 50 years, and then in 1974, a disengagement agreement was signed, which lasted for 50 years. However, when the Assad regime fell, Israel annulled this agreement, expanded its presence in Syria, expelled the United Nations peacekeeping mission, and occupied new territories."

He noted that Israel "has launched more than 1,000 airstrikes in Syria since December 8, including bombings of the presidential palace and the Ministry of Defense, but since we want to rebuild Syria, we did not respond to these aggressions."

Shara added that Israel's advances in Syria do not stem from its security concerns, but rather from its expansionist ambitions. Israel has always claimed to be concerned about Syria due to threats posed by Iranian militias and Hezbollah, "but we are the ones who expelled those forces from Syria."

He continued: "We are engaged in direct negotiations with Israel, and we have made significant progress towards reaching an agreement. However, for a final agreement, Israel must withdraw to its borders that existed before December 8, and the United States is with us in these negotiations, and many international parties support our view in this regard. Today, we have found that U.S. President Donald Trump also supports our perspective and will push as quickly as possible to reach a solution to this matter."

He continued, "Talking about a completely demilitarized zone will be difficult; because if any kind of chaos occurs, who will protect it? If some parties use this demilitarized zone as a launch point to strike Israel, who will be responsible for that? Ultimately, this is Syrian land, and Syria should enjoy the freedom to act on its territory. Israel has occupied the Golan Heights to protect itself, and is now imposing conditions in southern Syria to protect the Golan Heights. Thus, after a few years, they might control central Syria to protect the south."

Regarding whether he raised the issue of bringing Assad, who is currently in Moscow, protected primarily by its government, to trial for the crimes he committed, the Syrian President said: "We have fought a war against Russia for ten years, and it was a harsh and difficult war. They announced they had killed me several times. We need Russia because it is a permanent member of the Security Council, and we need its vote to be on our side in certain issues, and we have strategic interests with it. We do not want to push Russia to make alternative or other choices in dealing with Syria."

He added: "The issue of Bashar al-Assad is problematic for Russia, and our relationship with them is still in its early stages, and we will maintain our right as Syrians to demand that Assad be brought to justice."

On his historic first visit to the White House, Shara said that the most important goal is to start building the relationship between Syria and the United States, as it has not been good at all over the past hundred years.

He added: "We were looking for common interests between the United States and Syria, and we found that we have many mutual interests that we can build upon, such as security and economic interests. The stability of Syria will affect the entire region, and its instability will also affect it."

In response to a question about his past as a fighter in Syria and Iraq against the United States, he said that fighting is not a shame if it is for noble purposes, especially if you are defending your land and a people suffering injustice. I think this is a good thing that deserves praise. I have fought many wars, but I have never caused the death of an innocent person. When someone engages in fighting, they must have a solid moral background. The region has been affected by Western and American policies, and today, we have many Americans who agree with us that some of these policies have been wrong and have caused many pointless wars.

Regarding the fight against ISIS, he said that Syria today is capable of bearing this responsibility, and keeping Syria divided or having any military force outside the control of the government represents the ideal environment for the flourishing of ISIS. I believe that the best solution is for the American forces present in Syria to oversee the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces into the security forces of the central government, and the responsibility of protecting Syrian land will be the state's duty.