Olmert: Syria must choose between peace and isolation

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that Syria must make a strategic choice between peace and isolation, as a new round of mediated peace talks began in Turkey.

In a speech at the Hebrew University to graduates of the National Security program,Olmert defended his decision to hold negotiations with Syria, saying the talks had a good chance of being successful.

"Israel's security organizations have shown maturity and broad strategic vision when they supported the need for dialogue with Syria from the start," Olmert told the audience.

The prime minister said that during early discussions, decision makers at various levels concluded that the chances of success were greater than the risks.

"Israel's security establishment has a very significant role, perhaps an unprecedented one" in the negotiations, said Olmert, perhaps stating the obvious.

However, he also warned, "The time will come when signals, as positive as they may be, [will not be] enough. Israel has been pressing for direct talks [with Syria]."

His statements came as reports broke of a new, fourth round of indirect negotiations between Jerusalem and Damascus, hosted in Istanbul with Turkish mediation.

Moving ahead to direct negotiations is currently on the table.

Israel has been pressing for direct talks, though skeptics contend that Syria is interested more in the appearance of peace talks to break its isolation than in actually making peace.

Olmert said he discussed the prospects with security officials, and they told him that the potential benefits outweigh the risks in the peace negotiations with Syria, and that this opportunity must be explored.

Olmert also sent a veiled warning: "Israel is a powerful nation. Our friends know it, and so do our enemies."

Meanwhile, Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are at odds over how Israel should conduct its recently renewed negotiations with Syria.

An argument erupted betwen the two on Monday during a Knesset plenum meeting regarding the negotiations.

Haaretz has learned that during the argument, Livni said she opposed the concessions Olmert has been willing to make regarding the various matters on the agenda, as part of his efforts to see direct talks between the two states.

Among Livni's most consistent reservations is Syria's unwillingness to disassociate itself from Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran.

The Foreign Minister believes the Syrians are not showing any flexibility on this issue, which Israel would consider as a major goodwill gesture.

Olmert's advisers Yoram Turbowicz and Shalom Turgeman are currently in Istanbul for the fourth round of indirect negotiations. These latest talks began on Tuesday and are expected to last for a day.

Senior officials in Jerusalem confirmed Monday that Syria has carried out a number of measures in recent weeks that reflect that it is taking talks with Israel seriously.

The sources refused to say whether they were referring to such measures as lowering the alert levels of the Syrian army or stemming the flow of arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon through its territory, but they did say that the effects of the measures were "tangible."

Olmert said he was pleased with the measures and with the negotiations with Syria. He predicted that Israel's talks with Damascus would soon cause Syria to come into conflict with Hezbollah and Iran. Olmert said that when Syria reaches that crossroad it will have to decide which direction to pursue.

"The Syrians will soon discover that you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time," Olmert said, paraphrasing U.S. president Abraham Lincoln.

Meanwhile, a Western source said Monday that Syria is interested in making as much progress as possible with Olmert so that his successor will be bound to whatever commitments he makes.

	Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Getty Images / Archives)