Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., August 07, 2008 Av 6, 5768 | | Israel Time: 17:23 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Rosner's Domain
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 19:06 06/08/2008
Syrian official says progess reached in talks with Israel
By Reuters
Tags: Syria, Golan Heights 

Indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel have made progress but not enough to move to face-to-face talks as favored by Israel, a
senior Syrian official said on Wednesday.

"If the talks had not progressed then they would have been stopped," said Buthaina Shaaban, who was recently promoted from expatriates minister to adviser to President Bashar al-Assad.
Advertisement
Shaaban would not be drawn on what was discussed in four rounds of talks held in Turkey since May. She said the talks will continue despite the impending resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

"We are not concerned with whether Olmert resigns or not. We are not a party to internal Israeli issues," Shaaban told reporters.

Diplomats in the Syrian capital said the Turkish-mediated talks have mostly covered old ground tackled in previous negotiations between Syria and Israel in the 1990s.

Olmert, who has recently intensified his calls on Syria to resume direct talks, announced last week that he was resigning over a corruption scandal once his Kadima party elects a new leader next month.

Shaaban said there would be no direct talks until the Damascus government was certain Israel would return all of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.

"The talks are still preliminary and indirect. When we achieve the progress we want then the political leadership might take a decision to move to direct talks. The guidelines are our land and rights," she said.

The Golan is now home to thousands of Israelis along with indigenous Syrians who did not flee the territory.

Syria came close to securing an Israeli pullout from the Golan during
U.S.-supervised talks from 1991 to 2000.

The late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, father of the current president, refused to sign a deal he did not regard as liberating the whole territory.

Israel, in turn, wants Syria to cut ties with the Jewish state's main foes -- the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement as a pre-requisite for a deal. Syria has so far refused to do so.

Shaaban however cautioned against expecting an agreement any time soon.

"This is an issue that is not solved overnight. We negotiated for 10 years and did not achieve anything," she said.

Assad met Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at a Turkish beach resort on Tuesday, days after he met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and members of the clerical establishment.

A fourth round of talks between Israel and Syria took place last week. The fifth round is expected later this month.

Related articles:
  • Report: Syria arrests suspects in murder of Hezbollah liaison
  • The Syrian bride
  • Syrian envoy: Olmert exit could affect Israel talks
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Party for a killer
    Arabic TV station hosts birthday party for convicted child killer Samir Kuntar.
    Hamas to blame
    Noam Shalit says his son Gilad is holding Gaza hostage, and not the other way around.
      1.   For Israel, it is of paramount importance not to abandon the... 21:12  |  Jean Van Daem 06/08/08
      2.   The Golan Heights MUST be returned 21:34  |  MUST 06/08/08
      3.   Not only Golan! israel must withdraw from ALL occupied territory! 23:57  |  lakshmi 06/08/08
      4.   SYRIA MUST RETURN THE REST OF THE GOLAN TO ISRAEL 00:58  |  PalestniansAreA Myth 07/08/08
      5.   Euphrates irrigation canal to Israel 01:32  |  alfred 07/08/08
      6.   To Lakshmi (#3) 06:23  |  Morris Valentine 07/08/08
      7.   PEACE means giving up ALL the conqured TERRITORIES. 17:19  |  Husseini 07/08/08
     Read & React
    Israel to free more than 150 Palestinian prisoners as gesture to Abbas
    Responses: 93
    Rights groups slam 'disgraceful' minor charge over shooting of bound Palestinian
    Responses: 104
    Israel to Hezbollah: We won't tolerate arms smuggling
    Responses: 99
    Al-Jazeera apologizes for 'unethical' coverage of Kuntar release
    Responses: 62
    Rosner's Domain
    The reassuring candidacy of Eric Cantor (WTR)
    Congress likely to see record number of Jewish legislators
    Israel looking for leader and agenda, but finds neither
    On Peter Rodman, Lebanon and Syria


    More Headlines
    17:16 Rice on IDF Iran strike: U.S. has no veto over Israeli military ops
    15:35 European parliament chief: EU ready to broker Israel-Syria talks
    16:10 British consulate: Settlers attack U.K. diplomats on Hebron tour
    15:06 Israel warns Hezbollah: We won't tolerate arms smuggling
    10:34 Hamas transforms former Gaza settlement into movie lot
    17:00 VIDEO / Al-Jazeera admits to 'unethical' behavior over Kuntar party
    14:14 Nazi hunter: Lithuania hunts ex-partisans, lets war criminals roam free
    14:58 Bar-On throws support behind Livni for Kadima party chair
    15:14 IDF colonel and soldier charged in shooting of bound Palestinian
    13:00 Legendary basketball coach Ralph Klein passes away, aged 77
    12:21 Egypt seizes huge amount of fuel from 20 Gaza tunnels
    11:53 Two days before his first Olympics, Israeli swimmer learns of father's death
    08:49 Poll: Secular candidate would crush Haredi MK in Jerusalem mayoral elections
    05:33 Babysitter prevents kidnap of Jerusalem children by their father
    Previous Editions
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Fattal Hotel Chain
    Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
    Isaac Maimon at Dreamshoppe
    Special summer sale. Make an offer now. You will be surprised.
    MBA in Israel in English
    APPLY NOW! Limited spaces available
    Israel's Premier Real Estate Website
    www. israel-property.com
    Yossi Avrahami Presents:
    New Luxurious Projects in North Tel Aviv & Eilat
    Your vacation starts here
    Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates
    Hebrew Summer courses
    From $39.95
    ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel
    Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
    Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
    birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved