17/04/2008 Syrian President Bashar Assad stressed the United States does not want the crisis in Lebanon to be solved adding that Washington is satisfied with the situation as it is. During a meeting with the participants in the Conference on Pan-Arab Thought Revival and Arab Destiny in Damascus, Assad said that Syria is aware of what is going on in Lebanon and that it does not stand at the same distance from everybody. "But we have acted responsibly when we invited PM (Fouad) Saniora to the Arab Summit, despite all the offence by Saniora's bloc, which in fact is a persisting campaign, and we don’t believe that there are permanent differences with a political group; it is a temporary difference," Assad said.
The Syrian President added that the Lebanese opposition leadership did not get out of Syria's presidential palace to engage in politics, "and it's not true that we have a stronger influence on the opposition than the Saudis have on the ruling bloc." Assad also said that any Syrian effort would require good relations with other groups that have influence in Lebanon, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
On the conflict with Israel, Assad expressed optimism in the Future of Arabs and stressed Syria is preparing for a possible war with Israel. "It is a standing possibility but given the available data and indications, war is still farfetched."
The Syrian President went on saying that there is a US-Israeli endeavor to transform Iran into an enemy to Arabs, adding that what Israel's Foreign Minister said in Qatar a few days ago serves this end. "We know that Iran is a state that has its policies and interests. Perhaps some things we not followed up in a correct manner, however the question should not be based on Iran as an enemy state. I have told Arab leaders who blame Syria for having ties with Iran that we should raise issues that interest us, like the issue of the resistance, and then see whether Iran will be or will not be by our side."
 
Former Prime Minister Salim Hoss said Assad was willing to help Lebanon achieve a settlement to the protracted political crisis.
"We are ready to meet the demands of the Lebanese in order to find a way out of the current crisis," Hoss quoted Assad as telling him on the sidelines of the conference.
 
"We want nothing (from Lebanon)," Assad told Hoss.
 
The former premier, in remarks published by the daily An Nahar on Thursday, said the Syrian president also told him that he was "open to dialogue with Saudi Arabia."
Hoss quoted Assad as saying he wants to "achieve whatever is possible to achieve regarding Arab solidarity" during Syria's yearlong presidency of the Arab League.
Hoss attacked both Washington and Israel, saying the U.S.-Israeli plot targets the entire Arab world.
He said U.S. and Israeli policies were "identical," adding that they aim at fragmenting the region into "conflicting entities" to ensure Israel's dominance over the Middle East