"We Have to Work Together"

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir will visit Washington later this month for the first time since he assumed office. High on the agenda: improving relations that became unusually strained in the last year of his predecessor Menachem Begin's stewardship. During a 40-minute meeting at his office in the foreign ministry last week, Shamir shared his views on the region's problems with TIME Jerusalem Bureau Chief Harry Kelly. Excerpts:

On cooperation with the U.S. It seems that now there is more determination in Washington to strengthen the cooperation between Israel and the U.S. in the area, and maybe outside the area. We have common goals. About Lebanon for instance, about preventing any military surprises, about Syria, about the peace process. It is a common goal to make Israel stronger. [We must decide] how to do it in the best way.

On Israel's role in Lebanon. You know, sometimes it is enough to deter somebody with your existence, with your presence. The concept of [former U.S. Special Envoy] Philip Habib was to get us out of Lebanon. Now people would like to have us in Lebanon in order to deter the Syrians from exercising too much pressure on the Lebanese government and taking too much control of Lebanon. If we are not there, you don't have any leverage with the Syrians.

The U.S. and all the other armies will not be in Lebanon forever. But Israel will be here in the region forever. Therefore, if Lebanon is interested in being supported by someone in the area, the only factor it can rely on is Israel.

On a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon. The moment we are sure there is no danger that we will be attacked from Lebanese territory [we will withdraw]. It's very simple.

On the possibility that Lebanon will abandon the Israeli-Lebanese withdrawal agreement signed last May. If there were in Beirut a government fully controlled by the Syrians, maybe they would do it. The political meaning would be that Israel would not be able in the future to work with the Lebanese government on the establishment of security arrangements in the southern part of Lebanon. The only way to pull our army out is to agree with the Lebanese government and the Lebanese Army on security arrangements along our border.

On Syria's designs. Assad is committed to this theory of Greater Syria and, according to this theory, Jordan and all of Palestine are a part of Syria. Assad considers himself the leader of the Arab world, and it is his notion now to fight and achieve the fulfillment of the Arab aspirations, which is to remove Israel from this area.

On the likelihood of a war with Syria. Syria would like to be able to [attack Israel] because the dream of every Arab leader is to become a new Saladin.* When [Assad] says that he has to get a strategic balance, he means military superiority over Israel in order to defeat us. According to Assad, Egypt has defected. Jordan is not a serious country; it is nothing. Iraq is involved in this stupid war with Iran, and besides that, Assad hates the Iraqis more than the Israelis. Therefore he is alone in this front against Israel, and he has to prepare his people, his army for this holy war. Well, we are not afraid, but we don't want to have wars, and we have to take care. I think it is in the interest of the U.S. and the free world to prevent such a war. We have to work together to prevent Syria from taking control over Lebanon, because if Assad gets control of Lebanon he will be encouraged to go forward with his preparations for a crusade against Israel.

*The sultan who captured Jerusalem in the 12th century. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.