DAMASCUS, 16 November 2003 — Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has allayed the Arab world’s concerns about his country’s growing ties with Israel, saying New Delhi would not “dilute any aspect” of its relationship with Arab countries.
In an interview with Syria Times published yesterday, Vajpayee said the continuation of the Arab-Israeli conflict “fills me with great dismay”.
“I cannot believe that the people of this region, which is the birthplace of the world’s great religions, cannot find a fair and durable solution to this issue, without violence and bloodshed,” he said. “India is distressed at the continuing spiral of violence and counter-violence.” Vajpayee asserted that a comprehensive and just solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict “should be found through negotiations on the basis of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the ‘land for peace’ principle”.
Noting India’s “long history of traditionally friendly relations with all Arab countries and the Arab peoples”, Vajpayee said New Delhi had established diplomatic relations “with Israel, as have a number of other Arab states.” Describing India’s ties with Israel as “normal”, he said: “While we do have good relations in the field of defense, we have similar cooperative defense ties with other nations in the region as well.
“I think our record speaks for itself; our friends in the Arab world should rest assured in this regard. The important point is India has not, and will not, dilute any aspect of its relationship with the Arab people.”
India, he noted, believed an “enlightened multilateralism” had to govern the search for a cooperative multipolar world order, and the United Nations would have to play a vital role in this process. Recent developments had affected the prestige of the UN and there was a growing belief that the world body’s structures needed to be more “representative of contemporary world realities”.
Vajpayee also said India was committed to resolving its differences with Pakistan, including the Kashmir issue, through dialogue but only after Islamabad stopped supporting cross-border terrorism. “Dialogue and terrorism cannot go hand in hand,” he said.
In this respect, he said India had introduced some new initiatives for peace with Pakistan by promoting people-to-people contacts, cultural exchanges and economic cooperation.
The interview, given by Vajpayee in Delhi on Nov. 10, was published yesterday to coincide with the prime minister’s three-day visit to Syria. Vajpayee was expected to discuss postwar Iraq, the situation in Palestinian territories and bilateral economic and scientific relations with Syrian officials.
Yesterday, the two countries signed bilateral treaties on technology, industry, culture and education.
Syrian President Bashar Assad and Vajpayee attended the signing ceremony.
Earlier, the two leaders held talks on “the best ways to strengthen economic, commercial and scientific” cooperation between Syria and India, as well as the situation in Iraq and the Palestinian territories,” the state news agency said.
Assad congratulated Vajpayee on India’s objectivity during the crises in the region, while Vajpayee lent his support to “Arab causes, particularly the Palestinian issue,” SANA reported.
