Syrian Minister: We responded to all 'peace invitations' positively

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal on Tuesday said his country remained alert in order to respond to any attack, the London-based Al-Hayat reported. Bilal was also quoted as saying his country responded positively to all 'peace invitations' his country received. It is unclear whether or not Bilal was referring to the upcoming US-sponsored peace conference in November. Meanwhile, Rice, speaking at a press conference following a meeting of the Quartet in New York on Sunday, said that while invitations to the meeting have not been sent yet, "it's only natural that we would hope that the participants would include the members of the Arab Follow-up Committee, because that is the committee that has been charged by the Arab League with following up with the international community on the Arab Peace Initiative." Syria is a member of this committee, along with Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, the Palestinians and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa. Herb Keinon contributed to this report.