Israel and Syria to launch indirect talks

[Ognir]

Israel and Syria are set to begin peace negotiations brokered by Turkey, the prime minister's bureau and the Syrian foreign ministry confirmed on Wednesday.

"The two sides have begun indirect talks under Turkish auspices," 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."

Olmert's aides Yoram Turbovitz and Shalom Turjeman, have been in Ankara since Monday holding indirect talls with Syrian officials under Turkish mediation. According to the messages passed between the two sides, Syria is ready to begin peace talks.

The foreign ministry in Damascus confirmed the report, shortly after it was released in Israel, Turkey and Syria.

Israel and Syria last held peace talks, in the United States, in 2000 but they collapsed after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the fate of the Golan Heights, Syrian territory that Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War.

A 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 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 a peace 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.

The newspaper added that the Syrian leadership was assuaged by Olmert's refusal to deny or backtrack from the claims when word reached the news media in Israel.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/985721.html

Shit 2 on 1, like having US/Israel talk to Syria :lol: