Assad pledges cooperation with Hariri probe скачать в хорошем качестве

Assad pledges cooperation with Hariri probe

(11 Nov 2005) SHOTLIST 1. Exterior of Damascus University 2. Syrian President Bashar Assad arriving to crowds waving flags 3. Assad waving to crowd 4. Two shots Assad waving at audience inside 5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar Assad, Syrian President: "Once again, we invite Mr Talibani and Mr Al-Jaafari to overcome their unnecessary fears and come to visit Syria." 6. People applauding 7. Audience applauding 8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar Assad, Syrian President: "It has a become an urgent necessity at this stage to set a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq as this will ensure safeguarding Iraq from internal division, restoring its independence, saving innocent lives, and sparing it the daily mistakes committed by the occupation forces, which result in more and more chaos. It will also be an alternative to them blaming their own mistakes on others. " 9. Cutaway audience 10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar Assad, Syrian President: "We have told all those parties that, regardless of the American demands and any pressures exerted on us, Syria has an interest in controlling the borders because the chaos in Iraq has had a direct impact on the security situation in Syria. So we have an interest (in doing it). But cooperation needs two sides; are we supposed to cooperate with ourselves on both sides of the border? We exist only on one side and there must be cooperation from the other side, whether on the part of the Americans or the Iraqis." 11. Cutaway 12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar Assad, Syrian President: "When I refer to this matter it is only to emphasise that we are approaching absolute certainty that Syria is innocent. But when the (UN) report came out in the manner it did, and was immediately followed by a confused resolution, we realised that Syria's innocence is absolute now and the whole issue is a political one." 13. Various of Assad leaving after speech 14. Assad shaking hands with supporters 15. Various of newspaper headlines 16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Yasser Nehlawi, political analyst: "President Bashar Assad assured the Syrian people that Syria is innocent of the assassination of Hariri." 17. SOUNDBITE (English) Thabet Salem, political analyst: "It's clear through what the president has said that Syria has opted for the resistance option, as the president was completely convicted (convinced) that Syria will be accused sooner or later. This comes within a framework of continuous pressure which started even before the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri so he doesn't expect that this pressure will be lifted. He has no other option but to resist these pressures. How this restistance is going to crystalise nobody knows as yet." STORYLINE Syrian President Bashar Assad on Thursday called for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq and invited Iraqi leaders to visit his country. And, taking a defiant line that could bring Syria into further confrontation with the United Nations, he said his government would cooperate with a UN investigation that implicated Syrian officials in the killing of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but warned the policy would end if Syria were to be harmed. Assad also disclosed that the chief UN investigator into the assassination of Hariri had rejected Syria's terms for interviewing six Syrian officials. He gave no hint of how the matter would be resolved, but the UN Security Council has warned Syria it must cooperate fully with the investigator, who has the right to determine the place and conditions of such interviews. cooperation. interview witnesses. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...