Assad: Syria will talk with any prime minister elected in Israel

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Monday that Syria was "willing to hold talks with any prime minister who is elected in Israel."

Despite the optimistic declaration, Assad told Lebanon's Al-Manar TV later in the interview that "if whoever is elected in Israel won't be willing to pull out of the Golan Heights, there will be no negotiations." The Syrian leader lashed out at Israel, saying that "in the indirect talks between Israel and Syria it became clear that Israel is not interested in peace. Israel, in general, does not want to achieve peace. We held talks with Israel over recent weeks, but Israel did not convey its commitment to peace talks, and it became clear that they only understand the language of force."

The Syrian president added that Israel's three-week assault on the Gaza Strip, which began last month, proved Israel's disrespect for the United Nations, the Security Council and the Arab League. He also criticized Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, saying that "if Olmert were to come to me today and say that he was ready for peace, what could we tell him? We would tell him that he is a criminal and that we don't talk to criminals."

Assad also told Al-Manar Monday that he wants to pursue dialogue with the United States, but maintained that there should be no preconditions.

He said that the new American administration has already sent officials to Damascus to begin dialogue. He did not name them but said they had visited Syria before.

Assad added that despite the positive signals from Washington "we have learned to be cautious."

Syrian-U.S. relations deteriorated sharply during the administration of former President George W. Bush, which accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross its border into Iraq. Syria denied doing so, while saying it was impossible to control its long desert border with Iraq.

Washington also pulled its ambassador out of Syria after the 2005 assassination in Beirut of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Damascus was widely accused of being involved in the killing but has denied the accusation.