U.S. Assails Assad for His ‘Bellicose Rhetoric’ on Israel
The United States on Friday assailed Syrian President Hafez Assad for what it said was a warlike statement on Israel harmful to Middle East peace efforts.
State Department spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler said a speech by Assad on Thursday to a rally marking 27 years of Baath party rule was “out of step with the enormous promising changes unfolding around the world as well as serious efforts to move toward peace in the Middle East.”
Assad pledged to continue the war against Israel for “as long as time” and accused the United States of playing a major role in encouraging the emigration of Soviet citizens to Israel.
Tutwiler said: “What the people of the Middle East, including Syria, need is not more bellicose rhetoric but real statesmanship and a commitment to practical steps needed to bring about an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue.
“President Assad ought to be committing himself to peace, not war,” she added.
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