Syria Confirms Indirect Talks with Israel Via Turkey

almanar.com, 21/05/2008

Syria confirmed on Wednesday that it has begun indirect “peace negotiations” with Israel under Turkish auspices, state media reported.

"Syria and Israel have begun indirect peace negotiations under Turkish sponsorship," a foreign ministry official told the state SANA news agency. "The two sides expressed their desire to launch negotiations in good faith and decided to pursue a dialogue in earnest to achieve the goal of a comprehensive peace in conformity with the Madrid conference."

Turkey also confirmed that it is mediating in indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria. "Syria and Israel have launched indirect peace negotiations under Turkey's auspices," the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the three countries had agreed to make the announcement simultaneously.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister's bureau confirmed that the indirect talks will begin brokered by Turkey. "The two sides have begun indirect talks under Turkish auspices," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said in a statement.

"The sides have declared their intention to conduct the talks without prejudice and with openness," the statement said. "They have decided to conduct the dialogue in a serious and continuous manner with the aim of reaching a comprehensive peace."

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said that in advance of the negotiations, Israel promised to withdraw from the Golan Heights, Syrian territory annexed by Israel after the 1967 war, to the July 4, 1967 borders.

Olmert's office denied a statement Moallem's statement. "As (Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert has said in the past, Syria knows what Israel demands of it and Israel knows what Syria expects it to do," officials in the PMO said.

Israel and Syria last held talks, in the United States, in 2000 but they collapsed after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the fate of the occupied Golan Heights, .

An Israeli government official said that preparations for the talks have been underway since last year. "This has been worked on for quite some time... This started already last year, during a visit by the (Israeli) prime minister to Turkey, and it's coming to fruition now."

The U.S. government had asked Turkey to increase efforts to advance negotiations between Israel and Syria, according to a report published by the London Arabic daily Al-Hayat on Saturday.

According to the report, the U.S. request comes in light of the recent political crisis in Lebanon, and U.S. assessments that peace between Israel and Syria will help distance the country from Hezbollah. The report quoted a source as saying that Washington has hinted to Israel more than once the importance of progress in talks with Syria.

The source added that the U.S. said they are ready to participate in talks between the countries if Turkey is able to achieve a breakthrough between them.

Last week, Olmert said he was prepared to bring about an agreement between Israel and Syria during his term in office, according to a report in the magazine Paris Match.

Ankara would like both sides to commit to a signed declaration as a starting point for talks. According to the report, Turkey decided to postpone the proposed sit-down after the Syrians revealed Jerusalem's stated willingness to withdraw from the Golan Heights in exchange for peace.
 
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