No direct talks with Israeli PM: Syrian president

**BaD** · 06-20-2008, 01:52 PM

NEW DELHI - Agense France-Presse

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad yesterday ruled out direct talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert slated for the sidelines of an international summit in Paris next month.

Assad and Olmert will be in Paris as guests of French President Nicolas Sarkozy who is to announce the launch of a new Mediterranean Union on July 13.

Last month Syria and Israel had announced they had launched indirect peace talks with Turaaa serving as a mediator after an eight-year freeze.

"This is not like drinking tea" Assad told reporters in New Delhi when asked about the possibility of direct talks between the two countries.

"The meeting between me and the Israeli prime minister will be meaningless without technocrats who are the experts laying the foundation" said Assad who is on a four-day state visit to India.

"Only sending signals with no real result is meaningless."

His comments follow Israeli President Shimon Peres publicly calling on Syria last Sunday to enter direct talks citing the example of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat who forged a peace deal with the Jewish state.

Assad had said direct peace talks with Israel were unlikely before 2009 and depended on the fate of Olmert who has been dogged by calls for his resignation over a graft scandal.

The last round of negotiations broke down in 2000 over the fate of the Golan Heights the strategic plateau which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed in 1981 in a move not recognized by the international community.

**

Meanwhile Turaaa which is mediating between Syria and Israel in the indirect talks has announced two further rounds of meetings in July after the latest session in Turaaa left both sides "extremely satisfied" according to Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.

Assad told reporters that Syria-Israel indirect talks and the Arab-brokered agreement last month in the Qatari capital Doha that led to the election of former army chief Michel Sleiman as Lebanese president "were positive changes" in the region.

The Doha accord ended an 18-month political stalemate between the western-backed ruling majority and the opposition backed by Syria and Iran giving the latter the power to veto government decision-making.

On ties with the United States Assad said his country was always looking for good relations with Washington.

"But that does not mean we have to be puppets... the role of the U.S. in the (Middle East) peace process is important. This (Bush) administration is not interested in peace. We have to wait for the next administration" he added.

06-20-2008, 01:52 PM	#1 (permalink)
BaD ЬεşΐктΛş"к"	No direct talks with Israeli PM: Syrian president NEW DELHI - Agense France-Presse Syrian President Bashar al-Assad yesterday ruled out direct talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert slated for the sidelines of an international summit in Paris next month. Assad and Olmert will be in Paris as guests of French President Nicolas Sarkozy who is to announce the launch of a new Mediterranean Union on July 13. Last month Syria and Israel had announced they had launched indirect peace talks with Turaaa serving as a mediator after an eight-year freeze. "This is not like drinking tea" Assad told reporters in New Delhi when asked about the possibility of direct talks between the two countries. "The meeting between me and the Israeli prime minister will be meaningless without technocrats who are the experts laying the foundation" said Assad who is on a four-day state visit to India. "Only sending signals with no real result is meaningless." His comments follow Israeli President Shimon Peres publicly calling on Syria last Sunday to enter direct talks citing the example of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat who forged a peace deal with the Jewish state. Assad had said direct peace talks with Israel were unlikely before 2009 and depended on the fate of Olmert who has been dogged by calls for his resignation over a graft scandal. The last round of negotiations broke down in 2000 over the fate of the Golan Heights the strategic plateau which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed in 1981 in a move not recognized by the international community. ** Meanwhile Turaaa which is mediating between Syria and Israel in the indirect talks has announced two further rounds of meetings in July after the latest session in Turaaa left both sides "extremely satisfied" according to Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan. Assad told reporters that Syria-Israel indirect talks and the Arab-brokered agreement last month in the Qatari capital Doha that led to the election of former army chief Michel Sleiman as Lebanese president "were positive changes" in the region. The Doha accord ended an 18-month political stalemate between the western-backed ruling majority and the opposition backed by Syria and Iran giving the latter the power to veto government decision-making. On ties with the United States Assad said his country was always looking for good relations with Washington. "But that does not mean we have to be puppets... the role of the U.S. in the (Middle East) peace process is important. This (Bush) administration is not interested in peace. We have to wait for the next administration" he added.

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