One of Syria's outspoken critics in Lebanon has now said his earlier comments were "improper" and called for a new page in ties with Syria. Walid Jumblatt, a leader of the Druze sectlaunched his harshest verbal attack against Syrian President Bashar Assad on Feb. 14, 2007 when he told a crowd of tens of thousands of supporters that Assad was a "snake" and a "tyrant" and called for revenge against him.
"These comments were improper, unfamiliar and unsuited to political ethics," Jumblatt said in a live interview with Al-Jazeera satellite channel late Saturday. "I said, at a moment of anger, what is improper and illogical against President Bashar Assad. It was a moment of ultimate internal tension and division in Lebanon."
"Is it possible for them to overcome this moment and open a new page?" he added.
Syrian state-run newspapers, Al-Thawra, Tishrin and Al-Baath published Jumblatt's comments on their front pages Sunday.
