Ha'aretz (Israel) / Reuters : "Syria : There is no Israeli partner for peace"

25.06.2009

Last update - 19:20 24/06/2009

Syria: There is no Israeli partner for peace

By Reuters

Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Wednesday that Damascus could not make peace with Israel because of the latter's refusal to commit to an internationally recognized settlement.

"Achieving peace requires an Israeli partner and commitment to international law, United Nations resolutions and the land for peace principles," Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said after meeting his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias.

"This Israeli partner does not currently exist," he added.

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Syria has repeatedly said it wants to resume peace talks with Israel while demanding a commitment from for its withdrawal from the whole of the Golan Heights, which were captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Turkey, which mediated indirect talks between the two enemies that were suspended in December 2008, said this month it was still keen to resume mediation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered in May to talk to Syria but indicated he would not make any commitments on land first. His foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, blamed what he termed Syrian manoeuvres for not returning to negotiations.

On Tuesday, Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen said that Assad had informed him during his visit to Damascus this week that Syria is in fact interested in restarting the peace talks with Israel.

President Barack Obama, meanwhile, has decided to return a U.S. ambassador to Syria after a four-year hiatus as talks between the two nations intensify, U.S. media reported on Tuesday.

The State Department informed Syria's ..............
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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1095324.html