WASHINGTON - Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom welcomed US President George W. Bush's comments on the Middle East Tuesday and echoed the American leader's call for Syria to rapidly withdraw its forces from Lebanon.
"We are very encouraged by the positions of the American administration, by its determination that terrorism should come to an end," he said after leaving a meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington.
Shalom said the Lebanese people have asked for their freedom, adding: "We believe that the Syrians should implement Security Council Resolution 1559 -- and the sooner, the better."
Shalom also said that Israel "would like to make progress" in negotiations with the Palestinians, but he added: "There will be no progress unless they will dismantle the infrastructure of terrorist organizations.
"A ceasefire is not enough. Ceasefire is only an optical illusion that will blow up in a short time, so what is needed is to dismantle the infrastructure," he declared.
As hundreds of thousands demonstrated in Beirut against global demands for an end to Syrian domination of Lebanon, Bush warned Damascus to withdraw its roughly 14,000 troops and its intelligence apparatus and expressed support for pro-democracy forces in Lebanon. He also warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against "delaying tactics."
In addition, Bush renewed his call for a future Palestinian state that is "truly viable with contiguous territory on the West Bank," while telling Palestinian leaders that they must "actively confront terrorist groups."
03/08/2005 18:45 GMT