Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moallem told ANB TV in an interview that Syria's strategic relations with the national forces in Lebanon stemmed from a joint view on the Arab-Israeli conflict and on resistance as a legitimate right of all peoples.

He added that Syria had national principles that it could not relinquish, which included the Golan Heights, the Palestinian cause, and the right of peoples to conduct resistance against occupation.

Al-Moallem criticized the proposed international tribunal for the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, saying that Syria would not agree to give up its sovereignty and that if it was found that any Syrian official had been involved in the assassination, "he will be judged under the Syrian law of which we are proud."

Source: Teshreen, Syria; Al-Akhbar Al-Sharq, Lebanon, April 30, 2007