Aired on OTV (Lebanon) - July 9, 2008 - 00:04:36 : Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Mu'alem: The U.S. Tried to Spread Sectarianism from Iraq to Other Countries in the Region : Following are excerpts from an interview with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Mu'alem, which aired on OTV on July 9, 2008. Walid Al-Mu'alem: If they believe [Lebanon and Syria] have a common interest in establis More.. hing diplomatic relations, Syria has no objection. Since 2005, Syria has held this conviction. But now, after the establishment of a national unity government in Lebanon, the ground is fertile for holding talks with representatives of this government. [...] They tell you that Israel and Palestine cannot absorb [the refugees]. There are Jewish agencies throughout the world that finance the immigration of Jews from all corners of the world to Palestine, whereas the Palestinians, who own the land, cannot return to it. The claim that "They cannot absorb them" is false. The Palestinian have a greater right to return to Palestine than the Israeli immigrants from Australia, Canada, or India. That is why I say that the Right of Return is recognized by international legitimacy, and must be part of a comprehensive settlement. [...] Everybody should be concerned about religious fanaticism. The U.S., by invading Iraq, nurtured the religious and sectarian conflict there, and established its presence on the basis of this conflict. It wished to transfer [the conflict] to Lebanon and the entire region, because this conflict is much more difficult and dangerous than civil war. Therefore, I say that we must return to our roots. We live in the land to which Allah sent the prophets. We have all lived in this homeland as citizens, regardless of our religious or ethnic affiliation. If we do not return to these [roots], we should at least not become victims of religious fanaticism. It was the U.S. that nurtured and fostered Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in the mid-1980s, and Reaga...