OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Agencies)
Israel and Syria will begin another round of indirect Turkish-mediated peace talks on Tuesday amid hints of progress but also complaints that Damascus is still arming Israeli arch-enemy Hezbollah.
"Israel's desire for peace is very serious," an Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "That is why we expect that the process that has been begun will soon evolve into direct bilateral negotiations with a view to achieving significant results."
Two advisers to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert -- Shalom Turjeman and Yoram Turbowitz -- will travel to Turkey for what will be the fourth round of talks.
The talks started in May after an eight-year freeze, and the third round was held in early July.
Under the format of the talks, Israeli and Syrian officials do not see each other, and Turkish diplomats shuttle between the two sides.
On Monday, Syria's ambassador to the United States called for an end to the "state of war" with Israel.
"We desire to recognize each other and end the state of war," Imad Mustafa told a gathering of activists in Washington allied with Israel's Peace Now movement.
"Here is then a grand thing on offer. Let us sit together, let us make peace, let us end once and for all the state of war."
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said earlier this month that Damascus would establish "normal" relations with Israel, including the opening of embassies, if the Turkish-mediated negotiations lead to a peace deal.
The resumption of talks comes amid hints in the Israeli press that Damascus was adopting confidence-building measures but also a denunciation by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak that Syria is continuing to arm Hezbollah.
Barak, who is in the United States for talks with senior officials on a range of Middle East issues, made the claim in a meeting with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.
"To our great disappointment, we have observed over the past two years that the number of missiles held by Hezbollah has doubled, if not tripled, and their range expanded, all with the close and consistent help of Syria," he said. |
